


The Queen of Twenty Tithes

by RunaLiore



Series: The Queen of Twenty Tithes [1]
Category: BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Historical, Catharsis, Chaptered, Complete, Courtship, Drama, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, Kissing, Romance, Stranded together in a storm and we have to get out of these wet clothes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-16
Updated: 2018-09-03
Packaged: 2019-06-11 04:43:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 44,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15307713
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RunaLiore/pseuds/RunaLiore
Summary: Along the line of the stars’ descent, beneath the horizon and across the sea, there lies a kingdom ruled by a King and Queen with patient, measured smiles. Their daughter, The Princess Chisato, has kept court from an early age and she is praised across the realm for her grace and tact. It was only natural, then, that her parents demanded any suitor who wished to court her must first present them with an dower offering equivalent to Twenty Tithes. So far, every suitor has failed and more than a few have been executed for their failure. Despite the blood that falls across the palace floor, Princess Chisato has always been able to greet each new suitor with a smile... every suitor until Kaoru.To ask for Chisato's hand in marriage is all but a death sentence, but Kaoru doesn't hesitate. When Chisato tells Kaoru to  leave, she refuses to do so unless Chisato accompanies her. If only it were so simple to leave the Court of Twenty Tithes...





	1. The Princess's Suitors

**Author's Note:**

> Content warnings for Parental Emotional abuse/manipulation beginning in chapter 4. 
> 
> Thank you to dearest Izilen for beta-reading this story :D

Along the line of the stars’ descent, at a point beneath the horizon where the moons wait for dusk there is a land where the King and Queen rule their subjects with patient and measured smiles. Their daughter, the Princess, has kept court from an early age and, wherever she walks, the people of the realm whisper with awe.

“Princess Chisato! She’s almost here!”

“She’s so gracious, I had no idea!”

“I’ve never known a member of the royal family – no, not even of the nobility to be so polite and diligent!”

“She’s so wise already at her age!”

“She’s so well-suited to rule!”

Everywhere she went, Chisato was the Princess, and everywhere she was, the Princess was there as well.

In the spring of her fifteenth year, she began seeing suitors arranged by her parents. She was free to choose any suitor she liked, so long as her parents could set their dower – it was expected of anyone who wished to court The Princess, that they should prove their willingness to love her by giving up their wealth and their holdings. Each suitor was asked to offer a dower amounting to the sum of twenty tithes within a season, twice what anyone in the kingdom could ever procure in a single year. In the first year, no suitor managed to offer the full dower.

It was six months after The Princess’s sixteenth birthday that a suitor first managed to offer nearly the entire dower needed to begin their courtship. Being a resourceful merchant with numerous connections, he stood more than a fair chance at succeeding and seeing this, the King and the Queen made a much more specific request. The final portion of the dower could not be gold or grain or patterned silk - it must instead be a treasure and the journey needed to retrieve it. In a cavern hidden by the tides on all but a single day each month, there lay a silver chest wrapped in alabaster and bone.

The chest itself was the treasure – as the King and the Queen explained, it began the journey empty and would fill itself with the bearer’s honest thoughts as they carried it back to the palace. 

Upon their return to court, the suitor would open the chest and reveal their thoughts to the Princess so that she might know for certain whether or not their intentions were pure.

After traveling two weeks, the merchant returned with the silver chest and dropped it in the center of the court. He grinned keenly and looked to the princess as he peeled back the latches of bone and popped off the heavy silver lock, and then with a triumphant shout he threw the chest open and waited. The chest rumbled. It groaned. And then a stream of obscenities poured out into every corner of the room, so loud and piercing that the stone of the walls paled from the sound of it.

The Merchant shrank and hurried to seal the chest again. The Princess glowered. The King and Queen did far worse. The Merchant was executed at midnight, as fit the custom of a kingdom blessed by the light of three moons. The King and Queen abandoned their smiles for a slight and disapproving scowl. Chisato only closed her eyes and whispered words no one but The Princess could hear.

And so, from then on, all suitors were made to carry out the journey in just the same fashion as the last part of their dower: they must retrieve the silver chest and then present their honest thoughts to the Princess and the Court. To this day, no suitor has successfully delivered the full dower and none of have courted Princess Chisato. Seven are now dead. 

After the second, Chisato began to wonder why anyone would go through so much trouble. After the third, she began to wonder if all of her suitors had truly been such venomous men. After the fifth, she stopped attending their executions, but she could not stop attending to their intentions. The Princess met each new suitor with a smile and a fond wish, even if she knew he was likely soon to die.

Then, on the eve of Princess Chisato’s seventeenth birthday, a noble figure rode across the cliffs on a speckled horse draped in silver silk. The ministers of court announced their arrival and proclaimed that a dashing and valiant prince had come from the neighboring kingdom to seek Princess Chisato’s hand. As propriety demanded, Chisato arrived in court to hear her suitor’s request alongside the King and Queen. 

It was then, in the rust of dawn and the golden gleam of the palace court that a Prince approached the Princess and knelt. That was the first time in five years that Chisato had seen Kaoru’s face, and the first time she’d heard her voice sounding so certain.

“Oh my dearest Chisato,” Kaoru said, kneeling from an elegant bow, “I’ve returned as promised, to take your hand if you would grant me such a blessing.”

Murmurs swept through the court like wind through a field of wheat and the King and Queen each cast a warm and welcoming smile upon the visiting Prince.

“A noble offer,” The King said.

“From such a valiant prince,” The Queen said.

“And you wish to court the Princess? Our daughter?” The King asked.

“My wish,” Kaoru said, her eyes suddenly solemn and unwavering as she watched Chisato’s face, “is to wed the Princess Chisato.”

The murmurs rose and spilled through the windows, into the courtyard and soon they dripped over the palace walls.

“I see,” said the Queen.

“I see,” said the King.

“I see,” said the Court.

“I see,” said the Guards.

The ministers of court all turned to face the King and Queen who in turn stepped down to meet Kaoru at the foot of the stairs. Their smiles held steady and their eyes wrinkled fondly as they approached her.

“Then, noble prince, before you may speak to our daughter you must present the dower for our daughter’s hand.”

Kaoru stood and nodded. “Of course, your Majesty. I will deliver it gladly.”

And that was the first time that Chisato was unable to meet a new suitor with a smile.


	2. An Irresponsible Prince

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Princess Chisato has precious little time for distraction. Her days are filled with the obligations of Court and even if she had an interest in Princes, she'd have no time for daydreams of them. 
> 
> As Chisato prepares to carry out the business of the Court of Twenty Tithes, she is determined to keep the thought of Kaoru's sudden return and her even more sudden proposal out of her mind. That proves more practical in theory than in action.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you again to the wonderful and lovely Izilen for beta-reading this! If any of my Bandori fics hold any appeal it is in large part thanks to her.

“It is a wondrously unexpected offer, is it not?” 

The Queen sat in the dressing chair at the corner of Chisato’s room as attendants wrapped the Princess in finery and lace. Chisato kept her gaze steady at the girl in the mirror and held her arms out as her attendants tied the ribbons that bound her waist.

“Is it?” Chisato asked, not at all in the tone of a question, “I’ve heard nothing of this Prince’s holdings… or her recent whereabouts, for that matter.”

The attendants tightened a thread and Chisato braced herself carefully, using every ounce of concentration to keep herself from gasping, shifting, or wincing in the moment. 

“I’m certain she is a noble and resourceful Prince, my dear,” The Queen smiled just beyond the point where her cheeks began to rise, “and her mother has been a dear friend of mine for many years. A Prince from her kingdom should at the very least be well-mannered and versed in the business of court.... And moreover, darling, did you not once play together as children?”

Chisato closed her eyes as her attendants finished fastening her dress and setting a dark, red stone necklace across her collar.

“I don’t recall ever spending time with a Prince in my youth,” Chisato said. She took two steps toward the door and her mother rose from her seat to meet her.

“My dearest,” she said gently, taking Chisato’s face in her hands and raising her head with a firm grasp, “Please take care today. The duties of a Princess are essential for the happiness and survival of our people.”

Chisato raised a hand to her mother’s pale knuckles. “Of course, mother.”

“And as you consider offers of courtship,” the Queen went on, “please consider our obligations to the people of this land as well. The land has blessed us with this prosperity and health, you most of all… and all blessings must be repaid twofold.”

Chisato smiled and guided her mother’s hands away from her face, finally holding them delicately at her side.

“Of course, mother. I’ll return before dusk.”

The Queen smiled. “See that you do.”

 

* * *

 

When the Princess traveled through the towns and villages of her kingdom, she traveled ten paces ahead of her retinue. Ten paces for the people to know that the Princess was always within their reach, ten paces for her guard to cross should she ever fall, and the Princess never fell.

Of course a Minister could see to royal contracts and a chancellor could seal a royal registry, but Princess Chisato saw to the seals and signed the deeds herself. The King and Queen had long since intimated to Chisato that her very appearance in public carried far more weight than that of any other member of the court, and each of her actions could be carefully tuned to resonate throughout the kingdom. 

There was a precise angle at which she could hold a quill in order to test the sincerity of a money lender. 

There was a precise tone in her footfall that could convey both esteem and impatience. 

There was a precise moment at which she could smile, and she must smile, to win the favor of an ambassador from lands afar. For all things there was a singular point of precision, and for all precision there was a reliable effect.

 

At this particular summer’s noon, Princess Chisato walked along the left side of the cobblestone street that wound its way through a busy city square. She had signed a writ of trade and sealed a trader’s register, registered a traveler’s birth and now she traveled through the city to negotiate a royal debt. She walked into the parting crowd with a well-rehearsed and measured gait.

“Good afternoon, your Highness!”

“Oh! The Princess! Good Afternoon, Highness.”

“An honor to see you this day, your Highness!”

Chisato smiled at each citizen in turn and greeted them warmly, in just the precise way that would leave them feeling pleasant while not inviting further conversation. She moved through their lives much as she moved through the city streets: concisely, infrequently, and with perfect poise. It was exhausting, but in a way it was also incredibly easy for her. She only had to move in precisely this fashion and everything would turn out according to plan.

That plan fell to tatters as she rounded the corner onto a narrow street and found herself suddenly on the edge of an awestruck crowd. Women and girls as young as eight and old as the Queen herself gathered round the doorway to a bakery and yet none of them paid any heed to the door itself or the freshly baked bread inside. 

They were watching Kaoru, the valiant Prince who was, at present, balancing herself atop a wobbling ladder as she tried to repair the bakery’s broken sign. She was making poor progress from what Chisato could see, stopping every few moments to speak to the crowd as another woman called out to her or spoke her name. At the foot of the ladder, looking more than a little distressed and overwhelmed by the sudden attention, stood the baker’s daughter Saya, holding the uneven ladder as best she could while the crowd grew around her. Chisato stepped aside and watched from a distance.

“Ah! Watch out!” Saya raised her hands as the sign slipped but Kaoru caught it before it fell out of her reach. The ladder teetered over and Saya struggled to keep three of its feet on the ground. Meanwhile, Prince Kaoru flourished the sign for the crowd and steadied herself along the empty signpost. Her audience gasped, and the Prince grinned.

“Ah, do not fear for worry over me, my kittens,” She tucked the sign under one arm and swept a hand back through her bangs, tossing off a single bead of sweat, “On my honor, I will not allow a speck of mud onto this fair bakery’s sacred name.”

The crowd gasped again, in a very different and decidedly intrigued manner. Saya wasn’t flourishing quite so much under the attention.

“It’s okay if you can’t get it set back on the post! I already feel bad that you’ve taken so much time to try and fix it for us,” Saya smiled a bit uncomfortably, “And we don’t have much to offer in return but more bread.”

“Think nothing of it,” Prince Kaoru said, still doing nothing to repair the sign, “I will gladly persevere. In my travels I once met a great bard who proclaimed,” and the Prince cast her eyes to the sky and pressed a hand against her heart, “‘How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?’ and so, it is as he said.”

Saya blinked and glanced aside, searching for someone from the crowd who might help. She found none. 

“What… is exactly as he said?”

Kaoru smiled and nodded. “Essentially that.”

By this point Chisato noticed three things all at once.

First: The bakery’s sign post had cracked in the strong winds of the morning. There would be no hope of repairing it properly without a carpenter.

Second: For all her bluster, Kaoru seemed to be making an almost strenuous effort, albeit to little effect.

Third: The shirt tucked beneath Kaoru’s jacket was wrinkled and creased.

Beneath her notice, something peeked out around the corners of Chisato’s thoughts; it was a quiet echo, spoken in her own voice. The echoes piled up in a heap and cluttered her plans, tangled up her poise and soon they demanded her attention. She swallowed hard. 

_ Kaoru.  _

Chisato held her fists at her side as she watched the Prince pose and laugh for the crowd. 

_ The day after you storm into court and kneel before me, you spend your time like this? _

But what Princess Chisato said was, “Ah, Prince Kaoru…”

As soon as she spoke up, the crowd turned and focused on her. Chisato smiled slightly and closed her eyes once before raising them to look at Kaoru. “Thank you for helping this bakery so swiftly. If such a heavy sign were to fall and injure someone it would be terrible.”

At that, Kaoru raised a finger to her cheek and smiled at Chisato with half-lidded eyes. 

“Of course, your Highness. I was fortunate enough to taste the magnificent delicacies of this shop and when I saw their need, I could not abandon them.”

“Yes, I can see,” Princess Chisato said, raising a hand to her mouth, and noting the red on Saya’s cheeks, “And you’ve done a marvelous job of attracting the attention of the citizens to raise their awareness of the danger of a falling sign.”

The crowd’s eyes darted back and forth between them and even the Princess’s retinue watched with rapt attention. With a sure grin, Kaoru brushed a lock of her hair aside, set the sign upon the ladder, and twisted an old brass hook deep into the post. She gave it a tug to see that it held and when she was satisfied with the result, she hung the sign and waited. It held, albeit with a crooked sway. 

“Ah, how fleeting,” The prince said, shutting her eyes and throwing out a hand at her side, “I fear my time as a carpenter has come to an early end, miss Saya. And to you all, lovely kittens,” Kaoru cast a smile to the crowd as she leapt to the ground and rose with a practiced ease, “our time together may be fleeting as well, but I pray I may ever be in your hearts.” 

Two women swooned on the spot and the Princess’s guards rushed to catch them. The Princess Chisato herself stood with far less of a smile than she intended as she watched the crowd whisper and sigh around her. Only ten paces away, the Prince was speaking to Saya and though Chisato heard what they said, she remembered none of it. Only ten paces away, the Princess’s retinue gave a sign that they had no more time to wait or wander, and the Princess complied.With a breathless sigh, Chisato turned and continued down the street, and not a moment later she heard Kaoru calling after her.

“Ah, Chisato! Wait,” Kaoru cut through the crowd and stood before her, first seeming distressed and then quickly returning to her confident smile. She knelt before Chisato and reached up toward her, and then without realizing it Chisato had offered her hand and slipped it into Kaoru’s grasp. 

“Forgive me, your Highness, for calling out so suddenly,” the Prince said, pressing a kiss to the Princess’s hand, “I was struck unprepared by your appearance as I did not expect to have the fortune to see you again so soon.”

“Nor did I,” the Princess replied with a cold smile, “our meetings are usually not so near in time.”

She moved to withdraw her hand but as she swept over Kaoru’s fingertips she hesitated. In that moment, Kaoru pulled her back and clasped their fingers together.

“Chisato…” she said, quietly but not so discreetly that the crowd and the Princess’s retinue couldn’t listen, “I hope my intentions are clear… though if you would like me to prove them, we could elope right now.” 

A rush of blood burned against Chisato’s skin and she pulled her hand back, her face souring for just a moment before she returned to her calm, measured smile.

“Unfortunately, Prince Kaoru,” She said, clasping her hands behind her back, “I’ll be busy attending to matters of Court for the rest of the day and I won’t have a moment to spare for an elopement, though your enthusiasm does flatter me.”

The Princess turned to leave and suddenly Kaoru was standing at her side, the trace of charm gone from her face.

“I mean it, Chisato…” she said, now in a true whisper, “this time, I mean it.”

Princess Chisato stopped where she stood and her smile hardened as if it were engraved.

“Take care, Prince Kaoru,” she said with a slight curtsey, “I must be going, but I thank you for your efforts today. And to everyone,” the Princess looked over the crowd and met the eyes of as many women as she could in the span of a breath, “please take care not to overburden our guest during her stay.”

The crowd stirred as the Princess departed. Kaoru followed for a moment, but the Princess’s retinue closed rank and kept her from approaching. As Chisato crossed to another street and then into the square, the echoes in her mind tangled up her thoughts again and soon she found that she could think of nothing if not Prince Kaoru. She stumbled over the echoes and pulled them into form.

_ How dare you.  _

She spoke to the image of Kaoru in her memory, the sly grin and dashing flourish she’d seen just moments ago. 

_ You come back here after five years, after all that happened, and you propose to me–knowing what that will put you through–all so that you can stroll through the streets and flirt with every girl in the city? _

She felt her brow tighten. Her jaw tensed. She paused in the shade of a smithy to gather herself and then, against all practice and precision, she looked back. Her eyes fixed on Kaoru immediately as she was speaking with two of the Princess’s guards. Within a second Kaoru glanced past them and met Chisato’s gaze. For the space of a single heartbeat, Chisato had no idea what to do. 

The moment passed quickly. Princess Chisato collected herself and continued on her course through the city, losing sight of the streets behind her among the merchant stalls and the milling crowd. She stepped three paces faster than usual and hurried to her next appointment before her thoughts could tangle around her feet and slow her down again.

 

* * *

 

The Princess Chisato was born in a room in the middle halls of the palace, a room that was once an infirmary and later became her nursery, then her bedroom, which in time would likely become her royal apartments. It was a lovely space and well adorned, even if it was oddly separate from the rest of the royal residences. A short balcony faced the outer wall and looked out onto the sea while the hallway outside of her door opened onto a cloistered courtyard–one of the busiest concourses in the palace. When Chisato wanted to be alone, she had little choice but to travel further afield.

Since the construction of the Queen’s private residence and the north tower, the old terrace gardens rested in the shadow of the palace for every hour after midday. This consigned the space to neglect as formal events were better suited to the newer, more illuminated central hall. At Princess Chisato’s request, however, a small portion of the old gardens had been renovated when she was a child and it was still one of the few places where she could be by herself on the palace grounds. 

After dinner, which the Princess took in her chambers, Chisato took her tea along the small stone bench secreted away in an overgrown alcove of the terrace gardens. A small fountain gurgled softly and Chisato kicked off her shoes to dip her feet into the cold, clear water while she waited for her cup to cool.

“...That wasn’t the reunion I was hoping for…” she muttered to herself, tapping her fingernails against the coarse stone bench. She tried to chase any other thought out of her mind and focus on the sound of the running water. It worked, for a moment, until the noise of a rustling hedge drowned it out. Chisato heard Prince Kaoru’s dramatic laughter even before she saw her leaping over the shrubbery. 

“Ah, Princess Chisato,” Kaoru landed in a sweeping bow and knelt on the ground beside Chisato, twigs and leaves flitting off her cape as it settled, “How fortunate to find you here in this garden of fleeting memory.” She covered her face with a hand and then swept her bangs aside, “This encounter, too, is painfully fleeting.”

Chisato turned away to face the fountain, hoping Kaoru couldn’t see her stifling a laugh.

“I’m inclined to agree,” The Princess said, “as you’ve arrived here uninvited and so close to sunset.”

“Forgive me,” The Prince bowed and stepped closer to meet her eyes, “I was overcome with the urge to see you after we spoke this afternoon. Might I join you here for a moment?”

Chisato couldn’t stop herself from giggling.

“You know, the last time I recall you joining me here… you were scurrying under that hedge instead of vaulting over it.”

Kaoru cleared her throat and glanced aside, covering half her face with her hand again.

“Ah, yes, well, that is, as a great bard once said… ‘Suit the action to the word, the word to the action,’ and truly,” her smile twitched as if she was struggling to find her lines, “the action best suited to the word of ‘hedge’ is surely ‘vaulting.’”

“Is that so?” Chisato raised a hand to her mouth and grinned, finally turning back to watch Kaoru rush to compose herself. “Then I wonder what word is best suited to scurrying. Adorable, perhaps?”

“Well, who can say…” Prince Kaoru coughed again, but she found her footing quickly and placed a hand over the rose on her lapel. 

“What I can say now,” she went on, “is that you seem here lovelier by far than you did standing in the midst of the Court.”

“Oh?” Chisato felt her smile widen, a hair’s breadth higher than she usually allowed it. “And you are quicker to flatter me here than you were when last we met, too… but I’m sorry, dear Prince. Even if you were to present the dower tomorrow, I’d still have to ask that you wait until my current suitor has given up his attempt.”

Kaoru’s eyes froze and her grin faded in favor of complete bewilderment.

“...his attempts?” She offered, clearly uncomfortable with the words.

“Yes,” Chisato said, “A Baron of our court, I believe my mother’s fourth cousin by blood. He has so far presented seven tenths of the dower, so I imagine he is intent on seeing this through to the end.”

“I… I see,” Kaoru was still stumbling for words as if the ground had crumbled beneath her, “Ahaha, I suppose it should not surprise me to hear that you have a number of offers to consider. I must admit my ignorance, though; I didn’t think you had an interest in… Barons.”

At that Chisato laughed again and kicked a foot through the fountain, splashing the paved stones beyond. 

“I certainly do not. It’s been no secret that I’ve no preference for men and I’ve told him such as politely as I could. Somehow he must have thought I was being coy when I asked that he never speak to me again, though he would not be the first to make such a presumption.”

Chisato smiled again and she could see Kaoru relax.  _ Well, at least in this, her intentions are easy to read… _ Chisato thought. 

“Then as you say, I will wait as long as I must,” Kaoru said, her shoulders relaxing a bit, “though if I might ask, why do their Majesties not intercede and ask that he cease his attempt if it isn’t to your liking?”

Chisato could only shake her head. On that matter, she had as much of an answer as Kaoru.

“I cannot say, though he has little more than two weeks remaining to complete the dower in the time allotted. I’ll consider his offer until then.”

“Ah, how unfortunate,” Prince Kaoru posed again and shook her head, “To be forced to suffer such a boorish man! You have my sympathies, Princess.”

“Quite,” Chisato said, “though now that I’ve admitted to having no fondness for Barons, I wonder if you can imagine how I might feel about Princes.”

And then Kaoru laughed in that deep, inviting tone that felt as if it would be alright to just sink into her right then and there.

“I confess,” Prince Kaoru said, softly, “I’ve been presumptuous myself in asking for your hand as I did, but I swear I will be a Prince worthy of you, Chisato.”

There was a conflict in Kaoru’s voice that Chisato didn’t recognize and a jagged edge to her gaze. It was just enough to give Chisato a moment’s pause, and in that moment she felt her hands go cold.

_ Wait _ , The Princess thought,  _ no, I shouldn’t be speaking to her like this. We aren’t children playing in the garden anymore… _ but it was more than that. The chill in her stomach was from far more than just the thought that she had outgrown Kaoru; it was from the realization that she hadn’t. In that moment she wanted nothing more than to run, nevermind that her shoes were upended across the alcove and she had a full tea set to carry back with her when she left. She turned away and stared into the fountain, and in between the ripples she saw Kaoru’s face and her chest tightened again.

“Kaoru,” she said at last, her words heavier and unmeasured, “I am sure that you would make a wonderful prince worthy of any woman, but I do not know that I am the princess you’re looking for.”

“Chisato -”

“However,” Princess Chisato said, standing abruptly and collecting her shoes from the other side of the fountain, “it was nice to chat with an old friend today. I need to leave now, but I wish you well during the rest of your stay. If you will excuse me—” She bowed her head and curtsied quickly, gathering her tea set and spilling the rest of her tea into the hedge as she walked. It took hardly an instant for Kaoru to match her pace and follow alongside her.

“Wait, Chisato! I can carry that!”

Chisato clutched the tea set even tighter. “That’s not entirely necessary, but thank you for the offer.”

Prince Kaoru didn’t relent. She hurried up the moss-covered steps ahead of Chisato and stood to face her.

“At the very least,” She said, offering up a hand, “Allow me to escort you back to your chambers.”

The Princess didn’t even pause.

“No,” she said as she walked past Kaoru and into the palace halls, and from that point forward she wasn’t entirely sure how much longer Kaoru spent following her. Chisato sealed the door to her bedroom as soon as she entered and she tossed the tea set onto her dressing chair. Her attendants may have entered at some point, though she couldn’t be entirely certain. Her thoughts were elsewhere and they often felt foreign to her… some knotted mess of strings that all led back to something Kaoru said to her or something Kaoru had done during the day, and then in the middle of them a thick, braided cord that Chisato hadn’t even noticed before. She tugged it once and felt a numbness in her skull.

Why was it that the King and the Queen never tried to stop a suitor from presenting the dower, even though they knew very well that Chisato would never marry a man if given the choice? Why would they allow so many to make the attempt? It was a question Chisato had never considered until she spoke with Kaoru, and she wasn’t entirely sure that she wanted to know the answer. Her only distractions from that curiosity were her thoughts of Kaoru and every time she thought of Kaoru she felt her mind tangling itself up again. She retired early that evening, but Princess Chisato couldn’t fall asleep until well after midnight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kaoru's first Shakespeare quote is "How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?" She's using it to reference how long she's taking to fix the bakery sign, but the original is from Othello where Iago uses that line to try and dissuade Roderigo from giving up on his part in Iago's schemes. Kaoru is using it earnestly to try and say that carpentry is really hard, while in the original Iago was using it as part of his manipulations. 
> 
> Her second Shakespeare line is "Suit the action to the word, the word to the action," which is from Hamlet, as Hamlet is giving advice that amounts to "Hey don't be ridic and over-dramatic! Make it natural!" and I think... Kaoru may not have gotten the message :")


	3. Seaside Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the whispers of Prince Kaoru filling the court and surrounding Princess Chisato at every hour of the day, there's only one place in the entire kingdom where she can go to seek refuge. When the moons are right and the tides are at their lowest point, Chisato takes her dog Leon and a full kettle down to the seaside caverns to meet her dear friend Kanon for tea.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 3 of 9. Thank you as always to Izilen for beta reading, and I hope you all enjoy!

Long ago in a land along the line of the stars’ descent, a beautiful Princess was born in a time of famine and strife. As she cried out with her first breath, the moons’ light poured across her and left the mark of a silver flower on her neck, a flower that hadn’t bloomed in the kingdom for over a generation. Scribes now tell us that a calm swept across the kingdom that very night and that by morning, new grass sprouted up from the barren earth and stagnant rivers began to flow again. In time, the life of the land returned and in time, prosperity followed for its people. As the Princess grew so did the blessings of the land, and as the Princess grew she set to work solving more and more of the Kingdom’s troubles. The people whispered of her fondly wherever she went and spoke of her kindly as she left, all saying that the Princess herself was a blessing upon the land. 

So long as the Princess was near, the people had hope.

So long as the Princess was near, the people were happy.

So long as the Princess was near, the people felt safe.

But, was that truly for the best?

 

* * *

 

It was barely dawn and the morning mist had yet to clear from the palace grounds when Princess Chisato left her chambers and began busying herself with the business of Court. It had been five days since Kaoru’s arrival, or rather her return, and in that time Chisato gradually lost more and more of the calm in her life. Whenever they found themselves within the same room or space Chisato also found that she couldn’t ignore Kaoru’s presence. More worrisome than that, she’d taken to measuring time in terms of the number of days that had passed since Kaoru proposed to her in front of the entire Court. With only a few words each encounter, Kaoru was slowly disrupting all of her carefully laid plans and schedules. After almost a week, Princess Chisato found that she couldn’t even properly distract herself by burying herself in the day’s work - every courtier who crossed her path stopped to ask about Prince Kaoru and every time they asked, Chisato felt the corner of her smile crack.

And an hour after noon, which felt by then as if it were the twentieth hour of the day, Chisato stole away from the palace and disappeared along the cliffside paths that led to the caverns on the coast. While the terrace gardens were usually a pleasant retreat where Chisato could sit alone and collect her thoughts, it was also one that Kaoru was fond of frequenting. Perhaps that wasn’t surprising, Chisato thought, considering that the two of them spent most of their time playing together there as children. Regardless, Chisato needed to be away from the palace that day, and she also needed to speak to someone outside of the Court. Someone outside of the Kingdom. Perhaps, even, someone who wasn’t part of any Kingdom at all.

 

* * *

 

Typically, mermaids were thought to be creatures that only inhabited the farthest reaches of the open sea or in the coves and inlets of distant countries across the oceans. This much was true and experience bore it out, but it was true only for mermaids who knew how to navigate the tides and avoid the coarse currents in the deep. Kanon was not such a mermaid. 

Two years ago Kanon got lost along the currents while following a bloom of jellyfish across the sea. When she finally found calm waters, she found them in the tidal caves of the Land of Twenty Tithes. Dizzy and disoriented from being tossed about on the waves, she swam into a small stone cove to rest and there she found Chisato, sitting with her dog Leon and enjoying a cup of tea in the midst of the scurrying crabs. 

That was the first time that Kanon had ever had tea with a friend, and later she learned that it was the first time in years that Chisato had anyone to even call a friend. She was a Princess, which Kanon didn’t seem to mind, and Kanon was of course a mermaid, which Chisato didn’t seem to think was anything unusual in the slightest. On most weeks when the tide was low enough to allow it, Chisato would bring a kettle and a teapot along with a tray of biscuits for the two of them to share-Kanon would tell her about the things she encountered in the sea and the jellyfish she saw recently, and Chisato would tell her about the things she had to deal with that week as she spoke with councillors and bargained with merchants and negotiated with ambassadors who never quite seemed to understand the boundaries of personal space. It was nice, even if they could only meet when the tides were low and Princess Chisato had an hour to spare.

On this day, Chisato brought along two full kettles, four sachets of tea leaves, and a half dozen different kinds of cookies and desserts all snatched from the kitchen as she and Leon marched out of the palace. As he often did, Leon accompanied Chisato into the caverns and then promptly began trotting off to sniff at the crabs and seabirds that picked across the rocks. There was a single patch of dry ground near the water’s edge where the caverns opened into the sea and the cliffs broke to allow the scattered sunlight inside. Kanon waited there with her arms folded across the stone and when she saw Chisato and Leon approach, she raised her head and waved.

“Ah, Chisato!” 

“Boof!” Leon bellowed and his bark echoed through the caves loud enough to cover Chisato’s reply. The two girls laughed and Chisato called over to Leon with her fingers pointed down.

“Leon, please keep your voice down.”

Leon let out a quiet “bof,” and he almost seemed to nod as he settled into a well worn patch of stone and started rolling onto his side. Kanon smiled and cleared the kelp from a small, flat granite block while Chisato laid out the first kettle for tea. A small glowing sigil lit on the granite’s surface and the kettle began to boil.

“Is everything alright?” Kanon asked, studying Chisato’s face, “You look like you haven’t slept at all.”

“You have no idea how glad I am to see you today, Kanon,” Chisato said with a sigh, almost crumpling onto the ground as she pulled off her shoes and dipped her feet into the ocean. “This past week has been honestly miserable.”

Kanon pulled herself up onto the stone beside Chisato, tail shimmering as she slipped out of the water and let her fins flitter in and out of the tiny waves. She gave Chisato a small, sympathetic smile.

“Do you want to talk about it? Ah, if you don’t we don’t have to though. I found some really pretty rainbow shells the other day if you want to look at those instead…”

“Thank you, Kanon,” Chisato smiled faintly and pulled out a basket of desserts and snacks, “talking about rainbow shells would be lovely.”

“Of course! Oh, I have a few right here,” She pulled her hair aside and showed Chisato a pair of spiraling iridescent shells wrapped around part of her hair to tie it up in a ponytail, “They wash up along the bottom of the cliffs every time there’s a storm so I found a lot this time.”

“It looks lovely,” Chisato said, “I can have them made into jewelry for you if you’d like. We have an excellent jeweler in one of the border villages and I have to pass through there soon.”

“Ah, no that’s ok!” Kanon smiled and stroked her hair absently, “You don’t have to go through that sort of trouble, and besides I lose most of the things I wear when I get caught in the currents.”

“I see.” Chisato stared back at the waves and Kanon watched her for a moment, registering the distance in her eyes.

“O-oh! And there’s a new Jellyfish bloom moving along the coast of the islands to the east. They’re really pretty, with soft blue bells and frills like that dress you showed me once.”

“Oh?” Chisato said, still staring out to sea, “They sound lovely, perhaps someday we could go to see them.”

“That would be nice. Someday, I hope.” Kanon smiled wide and lightened her voice, hoping it would raise the mood - it didn’t work out as well as she hoped. Eventually Chisato shook her head and turned back to face her friend. 

“I’m sorry, Kanon… I’m being terrible company.”

“No, not at all!” Kanon shook her head and pleaded with her eyes, “It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about serious things right now.”

“I do though, “Chisato’s lips curled up wry and weary, “and more than that, I probably need to tell someone other than Leon before I end up screaming in the middle of the Court.” 

Kanon eyes went wide and her tail curled up out of the water. “It’s that bad?”

Chisato just leaned back on her hands and let her chin fall to her chest. “It’s likely more exhausting than terrible, but I’ve barely had a moment to my own thoughts this past week… yesterday I had to go back to renegotiate with a merchant who keeps insisting we’ve underpaid him even though I check every payment before it leaves the treasury, and this morning I had to give an ambassador directions to the stables three times because none of the other members of court spoke her language. I have six more meetings this afternoon and all of them about meetings we’ll be having next week and somehow everyone thinks I’m just tireless enough to keep that pace without getting worn ragged...”

The kettle whistled and Chisato sighed, but as she went to pour the tea, Kanon slipped back into the water and swam around to take the kettle from her.

“It’s ok, I can pour it,” She smiled, “it sounds really rough… but, you never seem tired at all Chisato, so maybe they just never notice?”

“Well of course,” Chisato said, “I can’t afford to look tired and dreary-eyed when I’m trying to keep a guildmaster from trying to sabotage his competition. There are things that have to be done in order to make the kingdom move… that’s reasonable, I don’t really mind having to keep looking calm when I’m feeling agitated or alert when I’m exhausted. I suppose I’ve just been struggling with it more as of late.”

“Oh,” Kanon finished pouring the tea and hopped back up alongside Chisato, “well… if you don’t want to have to do that all of the time, maybe you could try being a mermaid?” She grinned and flipped her tail up, splashing just a bit of water into the air. Chisato laughed a bit, though weakly, and for a moment her shoulders relaxed.

“Thank you, Kanon,” She said, “though I fear I’m not the most talented swimmer, especially not in these currents.”

Kanon smiled a bit sheepishly as she picked up her tea. “To be honest I’m not really either… that’s how I ended up here in the first place, though I’m glad I did.”

“As am I,” Chisato said and she took a sip of her tea, staring out through the openings in the cavern across the seaside cliffs, “though I wish there wasn’t such a clear view to the palace from here.”

She took another sip of her tea and Kanon followed suit, and soon Chisato closed her eyes to listen to the sound of the waves. Kanon waited a moment, not wanting to disturb her right away, and then, tapped the side of Chisato’s leg with her fins.

“Chisato… is there something else bothering you? I know you said all of that about the things you do for the Court, but you sound a lot more worried than you usually do when you talk about all of that.”

It took a moment for Chisato to respond and when she did, she leaned her head back and looked up at the cavern ceiling. 

“...Kaoru came back.”

“Oh!” Kanon set her tea down and bounced up brightly, “That’s good though, isn’t it?”

Chisato blinked. “Good? I’m not sure if that’s how I would describe the past five days…”

Kanon tilted her head and drew back her smile. “Oh… I thought… I mean, you used to talk about Kaoru a lot and it always sounded like you missed her, so I thought it would be a good thing that she was back.”

Chisato looked at her blankly, “Have I? I suppose a while ago, I did feel that way…” She sighed again, wondering what she must have felt like on the days when she wished for Kaoru’s return. Once Kanon mentioned it, Chisato remembered those moments clearly but even so, she couldn’t understand what her state of mind might have been like at the time. What was it like to miss Kaoru? What would it have been like if she could have felt happy to see her again after all this time? Chisato caught herself feeling envious of those scenarios that she was certain would never come to pass and she poured herself another cup of tea.

“Five days ago, she stormed into the palace and asked me to marry her, in front of my parents and the entire Court.”

“Th-the entire court!?” Kanon dropped her cup and she had to scramble to catch it before it sank beneath the waves, “T-that’s certainly sudden…”

“And reckless,” Chisato said, her eyes closed her face hardened, “My parents insisted on the same dower as always, and knowing Kaoru she’ll rush headlong into delivering it all within the next month…”

“But…” Kanon looked to Chisato and then back down at her tea, then back again as her mouth hung open. They both knew what she wanted to say, and they both knew why she was afraid to speak. Chisato spared her the trouble.

“Yes, every suitor who has undertaken the last step of the dower has been put to death.”

“B-but!” Kanon put her hands on Chisato’s knee and leaned over to look her in the eye, “That’s only because they said bad things about you in Court, right? Kaoru wouldn’t… at least it doesn’t sound like she’s the sort of person who would do that.” 

Kanon was right, at least as far as Chisato knew. If that silver chest the suitors had to retrieve was something that filled with their thoughts toward the Princess as they carried it back to the Palace, then Kaoru would never fill it with anything spiteful or crass. That wasn’t what worried Chisato most, though. Every suitor who had nearly completed the dower so far had been executed, and that was a pattern Chisato couldn’t reason out of her mind… but even more than that, there was something else that gnawed at her.

“No, she would not…” Chisato nodded slowly, “though it has been five years. For her to rush in and propose so suddenly without even announcing her return… I wonder how well we really know one another after all this time.”

“Well,” Kanon sat back and passed her cup back so that Chisato could fill it again, “I-I’m not really sure. I’ve never met her, but you used to talk about her a lot and it always sounded like she was someone important to you… you told me once that you used to play all the time and you sounded really happy when you told me about all the trouble you both got into. I guess,” Kanon paused, glancing aside before she went on, “now that I think about it you never really talked about what happened when she left or how you felt about that.”

Chisato answered immediately, almost as if she’d rehearsed her reply.

“I have though, haven’t I? Kaoru’s mother married the king of a country across the sea and so she and Kaoru left. I haven’t heard from her over these past five years, but beyond that there’s not much to tell.”

“Is…” Kanon paused again, this time laughing uneasily and looking back down at the waves, “I-is that so? I guess that would make things difficult, if you hadn’t heard from her in so long and she suddenly shows up to propose to you.”

It was a reasonable enough statement, but Chisato knew that Kaoru’s lack of contact was a symptom, not a cause. As irritated as Chisato was with herself over her reticence, she wasn’t willing to pull off the scab over that wound.

“Yes, it was incredibly sudden,” Chisato said, setting the first kettle aside and pulling the second from her bags, “but perhaps -”

A striking laugh echoed through the caverns and Leon rose to bark softly at the sound. Chisato set the kettle down as she and Kanon both glanced across the cavern for the source of the laughter.

“Aha! And there lies the fruit for which love toils!”

“Wait,” Chisato said under her breath, “that voice…”

The echoes filled the cavern again and now Leon was looking up to the high pathway that led up along the cliffs and to the fields above. Leon wagged his tail and bounced his front paws with excitement, and by then Chisato knew who they were hearing.

“Ah, how fleeting this journey of love’s peril has proven!”

Startled, Kanon jumped back into the sea and sank down to her chin, peeking cautiously over ledge.

“I-is that someone from the palace looking for you?”

Chisato shook her head and stood, tracing the line of Leon’s sight to the upper chambers.

“No,” She said, a bit curious and somewhat amused, “That, dear Kanon, is a foolish Prince. Though I don’t know how she made it here so quickly… wait!”

Chisato felt a rush of cold across her neck as she realized what Kaoru’s presence there must mean - only her parents and a handful of guards from the palace knew of the seaside caverns and fewer still would know when she went to visit Kanon. In all likelihood, Kaoru had no idea Chisato was there. What she would know, however, is that the silver chest held as part of the Princess’s dower was kept in one of the high caves tucked into the cliffside. She couldn’t possibly be that far along already, but if she was… 

Chisato rushed to Leon’s side and patted his shoulder.

“Kanon, I’m going to take Leon and look into the cliffside caves! I’ll be back in a moment!”

“Ah, Chisato, wait!” Kanon called after her, but Chisato was already climbing across the sunlit path that led up to the seaside cliffs. She was nearly halfway up the first slope before she realized she’d forgotten her shoes but by then, it hardly mattered to her. 

_ If Kaoru is already preparing to present the last part of the dower _ … Chisato shook her head fast as if she could fling those thoughts from her and she climbed on. Just as she expected and exactly as she feared, she found Kaoru standing at the mouth of a small limestone cavern set into the center of the cliff face, her white cape and trousers splashed with saltspray and her hands smudged with dirt. She was laughing triumphantly when Chisato first saw her and by the time she approached, Kaoru was already inside the cave pulling the silver chest out into the daylight.

Or rather, Kaoru was attempting to pull the silver chest out into the daylight. By the time Chisato and Leon reached the cliffside cavern, Kaoru had managed to budge the barnacle encrusted chest around a hand’s length and her brow was already glistening with sweat. Chisato couldn’t stop herself from grinning at the sight. When Kaoru heard her approach, she spun around quickly and swept her cape up to follow.

“Who goes there!? Is it - oof!”

Leon pounced on Kaoru the moment he saw her, nuzzling her face and licking her ears. Chisato rushed in to pull him back but she was laughing in spite of herself and she made as much progress moving her dog as Kaoru had made with the chest. Eventually Chisato managed to convince Leon to sit down as Kaoru wriggled free, substantially more covered in dog kisses than she had been before. 

“Chisato!” Kaoru said, still panting for breath, “stand back from that beast, I swear that while I stand it shall bring you no harm!”

Chisato hated how much she had to struggle to stifle her laughter. She nearly doubled over and wiped the start of a tear from her eye.

“How rude of you, Prince Kaoru. How could you forget Leon? You knew him as a puppy and now, to call him a beast? Leon, please pay no heed to the foolish Prince’s words.”

Kaoru shook her head and wiped the saltwater from her eyes. “...Leon?” She looked again at the dog sitting in the cavern in front of her. Leon was, by all accounts, a golden retriever with a bit of a shaggy mop growing down over his eyes and a pair of happily drooping ears, just the same as Kaoru remembered from years ago. What she didn’t recall, however, was Leon standing as tall as a horse and trotting with the gait of a bear. Sitting down, Leon could easily look Kaoru straight in the eye. 

“I see… he’s quite a bit more leonine than most dogs I’ve encountered.”

Chisato looked puzzled. “Is it so unusual that a dog would continue growing as he aged?”

Kaoru considered this, still looking less than convinced. “I-I suppose it has been known to happen.”

Then she cleared her throat and Prince Kaoru gathered herself again, delivering a confident grin with a gentle bow.

“Please accept my apologies, sir Leon, and to you, Chisato,” she reached forward and took Chisato’s hand, “it is a delight and a blessing to meet you here. Our encounter must have been ordained by a fate crafted in the stars!”

Chisato withdrew her hand and flattened out the grin that had been forming on her face. 

“I’d rather we didn’t bring the stars into this, if it’s all the same to you. And what are you doing here in such a place, dear Prince?”

Prince Kaoru held her hands open at her side and Chisato could’ve sworn she saw Kaoru sparkle somehow.

“I am here as I declared, on this quest to prove my love and devotion,” She grinned again and touched a hand to her forehead, “and alas, you have witnessed me in a most embarrassing dilemma… already, my feelings for you have caused this chest to overflow and the weight of them has made its movement… challenging. But rest assured, dearest Chisato, I will present you with this dower in the palace Court as is proper.”

A wave of relief spread through Chisato’s limbs and she placed a hand on Leon - more for support than to pet his neck, though she didn’t want Kaoru to realize that.

“I sincerely doubt that’s how the enchantment on this chest works, though your persistence is commendable. I must ask, however,” Chisato glanced from the chest up to Prince Kaoru, who was still posing among the dripping stalactites, “how you found yourself here so soon when you have yet to present the remainder of the dower.”

“Ah,” Prince Kaoru said, still holding her pose, “you see, that is, in so many words as I can explain it,” She cleared her throat again, her smile twitching slightly, “when I heard of the magic this chest carried, I knew that I must rescue it from this place with all the haste the heavens would allow me. I wish it to be my constant companion as I deliver the remainder of the dower to you, dear Chisato, so that by the end of my journey you shall know that you have been in my thoughts and in my heart every moment! Truly, though thoughts are fleeting things, I confess that this is why you find me here today.”

Chisato believed nearly none of that, but she also had no reason to suspect Kaoru of lying. This was Kaoru after all, she thought, and so it would be far more suspicious if she had a more rational reason for seeking out the chest first of all. Still, Chisato found that her curiosity lingered…

“And what of that journey?” Princess Chisato asked, “if I recall, the path to retrieve this chest takes little less than a fortnight to travel, and yet you arrive here in half a day.”

Kaoru seemed genuinely confused. “Ah, is that so? Well, to confess a dire sin of mine… I may have forgotten the map and directions which the royal cartographer provided to me these past days. I remembered the way here roughly from our expedition to collect seashells and crab claws years ago, and upon following the path of that memory I found myself here. Ah, truly how fortunate, to trust in such a fleeting memory!”

Chisato laughed quietly, hiding her face from Prince Kaoru behind Leon’s shoulders. With that mystery solved, she turned her attention to another. She rarely had a chance to see this chest and she hadn’t realized just how close it was to the caverns where she met with Kanon, so now that it was within sight she wanted to examine it a bit more closely.

“I see…” she said, “We did travel here once, didn’t we?”

“Yes, if memory serves, though it is oft such an unreliable servant!”

“Well then, dear Prince,” Chisato said, moving over to the other end of the chest, “If you are not opposed I’d like to help you carry this down to the entrance of the caverns.”

“Dearest Chisato, I appreciate your offer but -”

“Very good, shall we then?” Chisato cut through the Prince’s monologue and gripped one of the chest’s handles, barely lifting it a thumb’s width off the ground. Kaoru stood aghast for just a moment, and then she smiled and grabbed the other handle herself. Even with the two of them lifting, the chest barely rose from the ground… at least until Leon came over and grabbed part of the lid in his jaw and easily carried it out of the cavern. As he pulled it free from Chisato and Kaoru’s grasp, his tail wagged happily and he looked to Chisato for direction.

“Oh, very good. Thank you, Leon.” She patted his head and ruffled his ears, “Let’s take this back down to Kanon and see what’s inside.”

Leon bounded off as Kaoru reached after him and nearly fell over.

“W-wait, you mean to open this so soon!?”

Chisato calmly followed Leon down the path. “Perhaps,” She said, “though I’m glad to return it to you afterwards if you insist.”

Kaoru’s voice nearly cracked and she sounded oddly anxious as they returned to the base of the cavern.

“That would be best… it is a vital piece of your dower, is it not?”

Chisato only hummed in a curious and ambivalent tone. 

It took only a few moments for them to reach Kanon and Leon where they waited at the water’s edge with the silver chest. 

“Thank you, Leon,” Chisato said as she passed by and patted Leon’s head, “You’ve done very well. Please take a treat from the bag if you’d like.”

Leon hopped up and sniffed through Chisato’s bag of snacks, delicately pulling out a single biscuit and delicately nibbling on it as it balanced between his paws. 

“Ah, Chisato!” Kanon poked her head out of the water and stared at the chest, “What is this…?”

“Chisato!” Kaoru arrived just a moment later and when she called out, Kanon let out a tiny squeak and dove beneath the surface again. Kaoru and Chisato both stared at the foam of bubbles crackling across the water.

“Kanon...” Chisato smiled and sighed softly, kneeling down to hold a hand beneath the waves. A moment later she pulled Kanon’s hand up and Kanon slowly, warily pulled her head out of the water.

“Kanon, it’s alright,” Chisato said, making the smallest gesture possible aside toward Prince Kaoru, “as it happens, I was right. Kanon, this is Prince Kaoru. Prince,” Chisato turned back to face Kaoru, “Kanon is my dearest friend and I respect her privacy. Please see that you do as well.”

The Prince knelt right at the water’s edge and smiled just as recklessly as she had back in the street outside of Saya’s bakery.

“I see, then you are both a beautiful kitten and a dear friend to Chisato,” the Prince knelt by the water and picked up Kanon’s hand, pressing a kiss to her knuckles, “I will treasure this meeting.”

“A-ah, um, b-but,” Kanon stammered and pulled her hand back to cover her face, “I-i’m not a kitten, I’m a mermaid.”

“Ah, and so it is,” Prince Kaoru smiled and winked at her, “you are indeed a powerful swimmer to keep yourself so steady amid the pull of this relentless tide. Do be careful, though, not to overstay or your toes will prune.”

Kanon blinked between her fingers and slowly lowered her hands. “Um… do you… know what a mermaid is?”

“Well,” Kaoru raised a hand and swept her hair away from her ear in a dramatic flourish, “essentially, that is… yes.”

“Ahem,” Chisato cleared her throat and glared at Prince Kaoru, “If you would please conduct yourself with more restraint, Prince… and do not mention that Kanon is a mermaid to anyone. Understood.”

Kaoru bowed, clearly having no idea what either of them meant. “As you wish, I shall speak nary a word.”

Chisato sighed again, wearily, “Please see that you do. Now, as for this chest…”

She examined the lock, which was broken and opened easily when she pulled it with the slightest force. For such an ornate silver chest, it opened easily and its lid was far lighter than the chest’s own weight suggested. There was a slight tug at first, and then the lid flew back as if it were a door blown open in a storm. The blaring racket that followed was enough to make everyone wince and cover their ears.

“COWARD WRETCH!  FOOL OF A GIRL! USELESS! USELESS! PATHETIC FRAUD! SELFISH HAG PRINCESS! SO WEAK! SO PETTY!” 

The voice that thundered from the chest slammed against the cavern walls in a torrent and splashed back over Chisato again and again. She could barely make meaning of the words for the ringing in her skull and the pain in her ears and soon she doubled over from the noise. For a moment she felt as if her sight was fading and she reached out for the chest again, stretching her fingers out only to fall short as the strength in her legs failed her. She clawed at the ground to pull herself closer and then, with a coarse and gurgling gasp, the chest went silent. When Chisato could finally stand again, she saw Kaoru panting and hunched over the chest, her body thrown over the lid. Kanon was more than a dozen years away in the open water, her hands still over her ears and Leon was bobbing along beside her. After another breath, the last of the echoes faded and Chisato finally pulled her hands from her ears. The moment she did, Kaoru threw herself onto the ground at Chisato’s feet.

“Chisato, I… if those were my thoughts unknown to myself I will do whatever it takes to apologize, I-”

“No,” Chisato said, far sharper than she meant, “Kaoru, you have nothing to apologize for. Those weren’t your thoughts in the slightest.”

Of that, Chisato was now certain. There was no way that Kaoru, who had spent less time with that chest than even Leon, could have filled it with such spite. More than that, there was no way that Kaoru’s thoughts would be exactly the same as those of Chisato’s previous seven suitors. She no longer had room for doubt.

“This chest is not what you have been told, Kaoru. It does not capture the thoughts of those who carry it.” Chisato knelt down and pressed the fragile lock back together, looking down at the silver frame with disdain. “It simply spews obscenities and insults to anyone who opens it. Their Majesties must have been mistaken about its enchantments.”

“I see,” Kaoru said, stepping back and catching her breath, “in that case, I am glad we discovered this now and not in the midst of the Court.”

“Don’t worry,” Chisato said, still glaring at the chest and focusing on something beyond it, “I’ve discovered it in the midst of the Court several times already.”

“Then…” Kaoru stopped suddenly, glancing aside and searching for something in the air, “I see, then I am left with only one choice. Chisato,” She said, placing a hand over her heart, “rather than placing my earnest feelings for you into this chest, I shall write them into song and perform them for you as the final piece of your dower. It shall be a symphony of destiny and love!”

Chisato smiled coldly. “I would very much rather you didn’t.”

“I will need three- no, five hours for the performance!”

Chisato ignored her and called out across the water.

“Kanon! Are you alright?”

“I think so!” Kanon’s voice was muffled by a wave that passed over her head and she sputtered out salt water as she and Leon swam back toward the cavern. While Leon climbed out of the sea, Kanon swam around to meet Chisato.

“W-what was that, Chisato?”

“...I’m not entirely sure.” Chisato studied the chest again, still ignoring Kaoru’s ongoing soliloquy about the now three-day long opera she was planning to compose. Then a thought occurred to her and Chisato made a truly reckless decision.

“Kanon, how strong are the currents here?”

Kanon tilted her head, a bit confused. “They’re not too bad near the surface but down deeper they get really strong. Sometimes I get swept really far out to sea if I swim down too far... “ Kanon looked dizzy just recalling the experience, “a-anyway you should be fine if you don’t go down past where the light reaches.”

Chisato nodded. “Perfect.” And then she called Leon over to help her shove the silver chest into the sea. The chest splashed beneath the surface and sank down along the cliff’s edge, first out of sight and then down to the sea floor. When the water’s surface settled, Kanon and Kaoru stared at Chisato, stunned.

“C-Chisato,” Kanon looked up at her and then down at the water where the chest had fallen, “are you sure you want to just get rid of it? It looked really expensive… I think.”

Chisato knelt down and started cleaning up her tea set. 

“My only regret is that dealing with that chest kept us from our tea. I’m sorry we didn’t have as much time together as usual, Kanon.”

Kanon shook her head and smiled, “No, it’s ok! I’m glad if I could help today, even a little.”

And then Chisato knelt down and took Kanon’s hand, holding it firm. 

“Kanon, whether you’re able to help or not, I still enjoy spending time with you. You’re a dear friend, and I’ll try to make this up to you next time. Now,” Chisato let go and stood, slinging her bags across Leon’s back, “Unfortunately I can’t be away from the palace for much longer, but I hope I’ll see you the next time the tides are right.”

“I’ll try to make it,” Kanon said, watching Chisato with a pensive warmth, “and I hope the next few days are a bit easier for you. Take care, Chisato!”

Chisato smiled back at her. “You as well.”

“Ah, lady Kanon,” Prince Kaoru jumped in, finally breaking from her oration, “it was a pleasure to meet you and I pray we may cross paths again. Fare thee well, sea kitten.”

“Oh,” Kanon said, entirely unsure of how to take that, “thanks…?”

By then Chisato had already started leading Leon through the caverns and Kaoru hurried to catch up. With the sun now falling back toward the horizon, the two of them followed the winding path through the cliffs and back to the surface where they once again stood in clear sight of the palace gates. Along the way Kaoru offered to escort Chisato and while Chisato initially thought to refuse her, there was little sense in doing so as they’d both be traveling along the same road and they had the same destination. She allowed it, but her attentions were elsewhere for most of the journey.

Seven men were executed in front of the entire Court because of the words that came out of that silver chest. If her parents knew, then they had allowed seven suitors to suffer death while knowing they were innocent… It seemed unlikely, Chisato thought, and far more likely that they simply misunderstood the chest’s magic and never thought to test it. Still, seven men were dead because of it, and at the very least now no one else would have to risk sharing their fate… especially Kaoru.

But then, Chisato began to entertain another thought that she wished she could have hidden away even from herself. If that chest really did gather the thoughts of those nearby and repeat them when opened, then there was a far simpler explanation for its spite. After all, Chisato had unwittingly sat there in a cavern beneath the silver chest nearly every week for the past two years, even during the times when Kanon wasn’t able to meet her. Indeed, if she was looking for a reason for that chest to be so full if bile and hatred for The Princess, she knew exactly how that might have happened… but now, there was no way to really know for sure. 

Regardless of the truth, Chisato felt just slightly better to know that the chest was sitting at the bottom of the sea, far from the kingdom’s shore. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leon is Chisato's puppy, which she references first in the "When the Flowers Bloom" event story and who you can meet in Pastel Life episode 3. 
> 
> Mermaid!Kanon FAQs:  
> Q: What kind of Mermaid is Kanon?   
> A: Kanon is a Drummer.
> 
> Q: Does Mermaid!Kanon have scales?  
> A: Drummers don't play scales.
> 
> Q: Does Mermaid!Kanon have gills?  
> A: I mean, probably?


	4. An Evening Performance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which the Princess Chisato attends a banquet and very little goes well at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, you know how I’ve had that “Emotional/Psychological Abuse” tag up on this fic since the start? Well, that’s gonna come up…. Kind of a lot in this chapter, so please be forewarned. From this point onward it'll start to show up from her parents more and more.

Long ago in a kingdom where blessings demanded recompense, there lived a Princess who never failed. 

She could make the fields grow full with wheat.

She could calm the fury of the most implacable Dukes.

She could solve riddles and mysteries that no other soul could answer.

But through all her tasks and in all her toil, the Princess never failed to smile. Her manner was always placid, her voice always soft, and the grace of her step resounded in the quietest tones. Truly, the people would whisper, the Princess herself is a blessing and she can make a miracle out of a catastrophe. 

The Princess never failed and never faltered. Chisato, however, found herself far less perfect.

 

* * *

 

“Ah, what bittersweetness we find on our paths today. Are we not as a feather in the sky and the foam on the sea? So fleetingly momentary, and yet so precious this encounter with such a dear friend…”

“Kaoru…”

“Truly, it is as a great bard I once knew proclaimed—”

“Kaoru.”

“Yes, Chisato?”

“...Would you mind not petting Leon while we’re in the middle of the road?”

Chisato smiled with strained patience at Kaoru as she continued scratching Leon’s ears while all around them, wagons and travelers shifted to make way. Kaoru rode upon her dappled horse, three paces ahead of Chisato who sat astride Leon as he very slowly walked down the road. With Kaoru constantly stopping to pet Leon’s head or scratch his chin, they found themselves outpaced by everyone else on the road, a particularly sluggish field mouse, and the growing grass. 

With some effort, Chisato gently convinced Leon to move further to the side of the road and Leon in turn convinced Kaoru’s horse (whom she had named Destiny’s Silver Hearted Spring) to step aside as well. That at the very least allowed other travelers to pass by more easily without having to navigate around them on either side. It did not, however, stop Leon and Destiny from nuzzling each other and generally refusing to walk above a trot. 

“Is it usual for you to travel unaccompanied?” Kaoru asked, noting the distinct absence of Chisato’s usual retinue. 

“Between appointments and along the road, yes. Leon can travel between towns more quickly than a carriage, at least under usual conditions.”

Kaoru didn’t seem to pick up on Chisato’s complaint and instead she beamed at Leon again.

“Magnificent! To think such a small creature as Leon could grow to such a height and stature, and with such majestic ears.”

“Boof.” Leon barked his approval and Chisato sighed to herself, as much from exasperation at this conversation as from her own fondness for it. After a short time, they arrived at a crossroad and Chisato called for Leon to wait.

“Well then, dear Prince, this is where we must part ways. There is a matter I must to attend concerning one of the local barons beyond the township ahead.”

Kaoru pulled Destiny’s Silver Hearted Spring to a stop beside them and she took the moment to check the road signs.

“Alas,” she said, unfolding a hand at her side, “my own business carries me to the west, through trust that I will be thinking of you constantly while we are apart. I pray we shall meet again and soon… perhaps this evening, if you would permit my company in the gardens?”

“Perhaps,” Chisato said with a measured smile, “though I cannot be honest if I say it will be soon at all.”

“You are still as fickle as you are beautiful, Chisato,” Kaoru grinned and touched her fingertips to her own lapel, “but I have no intention of turning away without seeing the face behind your smile.” She reached over to take Chisato’s hand just as Chisato guided Leon out of reach. 

“Is that so?” Chisato raised a hand to her mouth, “but did you not just say you had business in the nearby village within the hour?”

“Ah,” Kaoru closed her eyes and laughed nervously, “Yes, that is, or rather- indeed I do, though it will be but a fleeting moment before I am back at your side. And so, I will hurry on my way to hasten my return. Until then,”

Prince Kaoru bowed slightly and the sudden motion startled her horse, sending him from a trot into a canter within a mere matter of yards. By the time she was nearly out of sight over a distant hill, Chisato could tell that Kaoru had finally righted herself and found a steady hold on the reins. Until that time, however, Chisato found that watching her ride away half hanging out of the saddle was far more amusing than she ever wanted to admit. Maybe she was just desperate for a distraction–it was easy to convince herself that such was the case, considering her present course. This afternoon, Princess Chisato was due to meet with the only other suitor currently intent upon delivering her a dower. Both personally and professionally, she loathed the thought.

 

* * *

 

The Baron Ocioso presided over a modest holding that sat upon one of only two tracts of land in the entire kingdom that shared a border with the northern forests. The rest of the duchies and baronies butted up against a cliffside or a river or some other shape in the land that provided a miraculous separation from the lawless and unknown land that was the northern wood. For all of the mystery and allure this proximity to the unknown should have afforded him, Baron Ocioso managed to be a singularly forgettable and tepid man. 

A thousand yards outside of the village nearest to the Baron’s estate, Chisato joined her waiting retinue and rode out the rest of the journey in a carriage bearing the royal crest. Leon trotted alongside the carriage until they reached the village gate; as the carriage moved along, Chisato bid Leon farewell and the pup curled up beneath the shade of a withering oak for an afternoon nap. The horses moved more slowly across the uneven dirt and gravel lanes that ran through the village center and even such a pace, Chisato had time to meet the eyes of almost everyone on the street. The people stopped their work and bowed as she passed and in turn the Princess smiled, but it became quickly apparent to Chisato that a smile alone would do little for this place. Rooftops were patched with half-rotted planks, refuse lined the alleys and gathered in the corners of the square, and the roads were so uneven the carriage slumped at odd angles and its wheels rattled over uneven ruts. The townsfolk didn’t seem destitute, but their town was clearly suffering from neglect at the hands of its Baron. As they passed the last row of homes and entered the Baron’s estate, Chisato sighed. 

_ I see…  _ She thought, staring ahead to the Baron’s short, wrought-iron gate,  _ he’s been using the funds that would have paid for the village upkeep to finance the dower he’s been presenting. He must truly be a fool, then, if he’s deprived his people for this long so that he might receive my formal rejection. _

As the carriage rolled to a stop in front of the Baron’s manor, Princess Chisato laughed softly to herself.

“I see,” she said, “then this shouldn’t take as long as I expected.”

 

The interior of Baron Ocioso’s estate was in a state of neglect and disrepair not unlike that of the town outside of its gates. A small comfort, Chisato noted, since at least the Baron didn’t seem to be squandering wealth from his people to live in luxury. She still found it far from admirable, since he was clearly squandering it for his own sake regardless. While the house staff ran to fetch the Baron and prepare tea, Princess Chisato closed her eyes and laid out the pattern of events that would soon fall into place.

Once announced, she would meet the Baron in a room of his choice, likely a study or dining hall which has been kept in better condition than other parts of the household. They would exchange no fewer and no more than three pleasantries, which Princess Chisato had already determined in advance. The Baron would ask, in a very predictable order,

“How does the weather find you?”

To which she would reply politely, restrained, and with a quick note about the clear skies over the countryside. The Baron would then say, as decorum prescribed,

“I trust your journey went smoothly, though I apologize for the state of our roads as of late. The constant rainfall, you see…”

And the Princess would reply again gently, though with a measure more impatience, that they did have some difficulty traversing the roads running through the town. He would wince or shrink at that comment, eager to move away from that topic. Chisato was counting on this. Once she saw to the Baron’s concerns and the business of Court, she intended to convince him to withdraw his proposal of courtship and give up on providing the rest of her dower. Perhaps then the townsfolk wouldn’t have to bale water out of the streets for three days after every storm. Perhaps it would also spare him the fate of her prior suitors.

“I am most pleased and humbled to have your Highness visiting my estate in person; and it is a most unexpected blessing,” the Baron would then say, which in truth meant that he had not prepared for the Princess herself to arrive as the representative of the Court. 

That much of the conversation would go exactly as planned; of that Chisato was certain. The constraints of etiquette and decorum effectively limited the Baron’s words and actions to a very small number of possibilities. Where possibilities were few, Chisato could plan the conversation far in advance and determine the angle of her greatest advantage. The same could be true for the Baron, but he was at a startling disadvantage; he wasn’t prepared to meet the Princess in person, he didn’t have the ability to overstep the bounds of decorum in the way that the Princess might, and he suffered from the same indecisive temperment as almost every other member of the Court.

Even when possibilities are limited, even when the path of a conversation narrow to a single choice, humans often meet such encounters with great anxiety and resistance. Princess Chisato, on the other hand, had been trained almost from birth to find security in the limited, to accept the single path open before her with grace and ease, and to use that to her advantage whenever possible. It was a simple matter to outsmart and outmaneuver your partners in conversation when they were so unwilling to take the next obvious step that they didn’t bother to think of what they might do after that. All Chisato had to do was quiet any anxiety she ever felt, ignore any idle thoughts about improbabilities, and disregard any paths that didn’t serve the interest of the Crown. After seventeen years, it was a practiced and automatic behavior. At times, it even seemed out of her own control.

As soon as the house staff showed Princess Chisato into the Baron’s study, the conversation proceeded exactly as she anticipated… right up until Baron Ocioso told her why he had asked to speak with a representative of the Crown.

“Ah, you see, your Highness…” the Baron dabbed his forehead with a handkerchief, “And please understand, I say this with the most severe regret and the greatest shame…” He ran a hand back through his thinning, oily hair and then bowed his head, his frame shrinking under the Princess’s gaze. He swallowed hard and then pleaded with more than a little desperation in his voice.

“Your Highness, I find myself unable to fulfill the promise of your dower. Though I hold you in the highest regard and esteem and I still believe you to be the greatest and most beautiful woman in the realm, I am… sadly and suddenly unable to provide the remainder of my commitment owing to a recent misfortune. In light of this, I must woefully admit that I am unsuited to stand at your side.”

For the first time in many months, Chisato hesitated. Fortunately, the Princess knew exactly how to respond.

“Baron Ocioso, I appreciate your honesty and candor in this matter. In all things, I pray you may continue to exercise such prudence.”

Princess Chisato smiled and raised a hand to her mouth, 

“While it is unfortunate that you must end your courtship in such a manner, please be assured that we still look forward to your presence in Court and I assure you that I bear no ill will against you. In fact, I look forward to working with you in the future, as a colleague.”

The Baron nodded with a quivering grin and placed a hand on his desk for support.

“Thank you, your Highness,” he said, and in proper etiquette that should have been the end of the matter. Baron Ocioso was now so anxious, however, that he paid little heed to the bounds of proper form.

“Your Highness, please trust me when I say it was by no wish of my own that I do this,” he said, choking on his thoughts as he searched for another word that might make him feel less anxious. He found none.

“Your Highness, if I were more capable of gathering the dower, or rather, that is, were the situation within my grasp and were I not subject to these recent misfortunes…” 

The Baron cleared his throat and Princess Chisato’s eyes narrowed by the slightest margin. He was hiding something, she realized, and most likely against his will.

“Baron Ocioso,” She said, stepping closer and letting her hands fall gently at her side, “to what misfortunes do you refer? If some disaster or ill has befallen your holding, the Crown can aid you.” 

“I–” He opened his mouth and then stopped, but by then it was too late. The Princess knew that he was hiding something from her and when he finally accepted this, he knew there was only one path open to him. Even when the situation was unexpected, the Princess could make things go exactly according to plan.

It took the Baron three deep breaths and a few more reassurances before he finally admitted the truth: he had been robbed. According to the Baron, he was preparing the final portion of Princess Chisato’s dower when bandits ransacked his manor and stole the whole thing, along with four silver candelabra and an emerald ring that belonged to his late mother. Through his accounts, Chisato also reasoned that he had in fact allowed his manor and the towns and villages in his holding to fall into disrepair in order to provide the dower. Chisato sighed.

“Baron,” she said flatly, “I will send word to the Royal Guard and we will search for these bandits, though I cannot imagine they will have much luck spending their stolen goods once we alert the merchant guilds. I can see how this has distressed you, Baron, and so I would like to offer you the support of the Crown in repairing the roads and buildings in your townships, if you are willing to accept.”

“Yes!” The Baron answered without hesitation and then reined in his relief, “Yes, I would be most grateful, Your Highness… and I apologize again…”

“Think nothing of it,” The Princess said, “I will be returning the portion of the dower you presented to me, and you are to use this in the service of the townships and the people in your holding.”

At that, the Baron’s face hardened and soured again. “Your H-highness, your dower… you can’t, that was a gift to you, personally!”

“Yes,” The Princess said, “And as it is my own, I will do with it as I please. I’ll contact the minister of finance once I return to the palace and I look forward to hearing good news from your citizens in the coming months. Is this suitable?”

She asked, as if the Baron had any choice but to comply.

“Y-yes, Your Highness. Thank you, Your Highness… your beauty is yet unmatched, and I am once again humbled by the depths of your kindness.”

Chisato didn’t care for his tone, the way he seemed to savor the words as he spoke them as if he thought she might actually enjoy such a compliment. The Princess smiled and she nodded slightly.

“Thank you, Baron, but there are many girls far kinder than myself, and far closer to you in stature and bearing. I pray you will be well, and now I must take my leave.”

“Of course. Farewell, your Highness.”

Princess Chisato smiled. Baron Ocioso bowed. The Princess’s retinue accompanied her outside, and as she left the Baron’s estate Chisato finally slumped down in her chair and let out a weary sigh. 

“What a singularly unpleasant man…” she muttered to herself, too soft to be heard over the rattling of the carriage wheels.

As soon as the carriage left the furthest village’s gate, Leon sprung up from where he waited in the shade of the oak tree and hurried to Chisato’s side. She dismissed her retinue and hopped onto Leon’s back, trotting down the road at an aimless pace. As they left the northern hills and the rocky ground gave way to the open plains, she led Leon off of the road completely and the two of them meandered through the soft grass and toward the distant, towering palace walls. 

“Leon, there’s no need to hurry,” Chisato said, ruffling his ears, “Though I suppose you’ll be getting hungry soon.” 

The time it took to travel between places was special in a way that Chisato understood very well. After leaving one appointment and before arriving at the next, she had no obligations and nothing was expected of her save that she continue moving toward her destination. On rare occasion she would see an ambassador along the road or encounter a merchant in dispute with a crafter, but beyond those rare and momentary lapses into formality, the time she spent traveling left Chisato’s mind free to rest or wander. There on the plains, she could ignore all thoughts of Barons and decorum and the necessity of planning a conversation’s ending before it ever began. There on the plains, there were no duties to perform or contracts to negotiate. There on the plains, no one would notice her or call out her name… no one except for Kaoru.

“Ah, Chisato!” 

Kaoru rode quickly to catch up to Leon and then she eased Destiny’s reins to keep pace. She looked winded but not overmuch, in the way that Chisato assumed was meant to make her look fare more hurried than she actually was. It was almost endearing, in a way, since her horse had done all the running and there was little cause for Kaoru to be out of breath. Maybe she was just that awkward of a rider.

“A truly fateful coincidence, to meet you here as I was riding to the palace,” Kaoru said, sweeping her hair aside and grinning in the wind. 

“Is it?” Chisato tilted her head aside to look at Kaoru, “it seemed to me as if you were traveling along the road before you spotted me here and then followed after.”

Kaoru shook her head and placed a hand over her collar. “Ah, but it was a force far more fateful than my own desire to see you again, I confess. You see, my horse is very fond of Leon, and I did not dare attempt to contain or dissuade his passionate feelings of noble camaraderie.”

Chisato glanced ahead of her and watched as Leon and Destiny took turns sniffing each other and Destiny nibbled a fallen leaf off of Leon’s ear. Chisato smiled and looked at Kaoru from the corner of her eye.

“In that case, I will not blame your horse, though it is unusual for the horse to take the reins.”

“Yes,” Kaoru said, pushing a hand back through her hair and smiling up at the sky, “he is a free and majestic soul. Ah, I nearly forgot!”

Kaoru pulled a bag up from her saddle and pulled out a small band of woven red flowers, freshly braided around a soft vine and glowing with a faint shimmer in the sunlight. 

“For you, Chisato,” Kaoru offered the bracelet with a disarming smile, “I hope it isn’t too plain for your liking.”

It was hardly plain–simple, perhaps, but absolutely not plain. The flowers were a rare form of ember lily that grew high in the ravines along the Western border, each one carefully plucked so that the plant itself would survive even without one of its blossoms. When Chisato took the bracelet, she noticed the cuts and scrapes across Kaoru’s hands and the dirt that smudged her trousers and her cape. Chisato chided herself as she turned it over in her hands and she wished she didn’t feel such an immediate attachment to a twisted loop of flowers and vines. 

“Thank you,” is all that she said, though more quietly and sincerely than she meant to, “I appreciate the gesture. Kaoru...”

Chisato looked aside and met Kaoru’s eyes, and suddenly she forgot what she was going to say. Had Kaoru always looked this beautiful with the sunlight cast behind her? She certainly hadn’t always been so tall or so forward in so many ways. Her willingness to climb ridiculous ledges on the off chance that it might make Chisato smile was just the same as always, though. When Chisato thought of the time they spent together in their youth she felt a flutter in her chest, but the memories soured quickly. She smoothed the expression from her face and looked ahead.

“I’ll take care of this,” she said, carefully tucking the bracelet into the bag on Leon’s saddle, “but for now, I must bid you good evening and good night, Prince Kaoru.”

“Good night?” Kaoru looked confused, “Ah, but are we not dining together this evening? By invitation of their Majesties?”

Chisato’s mind flickered.  _ Of course, _ she realized,  _ Mother and Father are throwing a banquet tonight. Of course they would invite a visiting Prince. Of course they would. _

Outwardly, Chisato raised her eyebrows a bit and feigned surprise. “Ah, is that so? I hadn’t heard, but this is not unexpected.”

“Is it not?” Kaoru said, sweeping her hands out at her side, “Ah, what kind fortune that brings us together in such fair company. Chisato, might I have the honor of escorting you to dinner this evening?”

Chisato smiled from behind her hand. “I don’t see how I could possibly avoid it, given that we are bound to the same destination.”

“Ah, of course,” Kaoru said, holding out a hand which Chisato did not take, “our futures must be truly and thoroughly intertwined for our paths to converge so closely! And yet how quickly we shall reach the palace and part again! Ah, this fleetingly temporary encounter!” 

Kaoru spread her hands with a flourish and she smiled wide, all while still holding her horse’s reins. The reins tightened and jerked as Kaoru moved and suddenly Destiny’s Silver Hearted Spring was galloping across the plains and racing toward the capital. For the second time that day, Chisato watched Kaoru riding away and barely keeping herself in the saddle, and for a moment Chisato wished she could just stop Leon in his tracks, lay down in the grass, and hide there until the next morning.

 

* * *

 

The grand banquet hall in the palace was arranged such that every prominent member of court could sit together all at once, though not at the same table or the same height. Two tables ran down the length of the room, draped in deep purple and golden silk and engraved with the crests of every noble family in the Kingdom. The banquet tables butted up against the dais at the top of the room and from there, the royal family and their honored guests were able to look out over every member of court in attendance. Banquets held in the Court of Twenty Tithes were a practiced and patterned affair and, on most nights, Chisato could make her way through any number of dull or uncomfortable conversations without even half a thought. Most nights, however, she was not seated at the same table as Kaoru.

Whether it was out of mercy or menace, the King and Queen saw it fit to seat Prince Kaoru at the high table, three seats to the King’s left. Chisato took her normal seat to the right of the Queen, which ended up setting so many sets of shoulders between herself and the Prince that they could barely see one another once the dinner began. Perhaps, Chisato hoped in vain, this would be an evening just like any other.

“Attention, everyone!” The King rose and the din of the room quieted, “It is our honor this evening to welcome Prince Kaoru, from the Court of the White Rose across the sea. Prince Kaoru, please rise.”

Kaoru rose and bowed with a perfect smile and a sparkle in her eyes. 

“It is my honor, your Majesty,” she said, bowing her head again, “and I am grateful for your invitation. Your kingdom is truly magnificent and full of the fleeting beauty of idyllic spring… I pray you forgive me if I say that it seems we all owe your lovely daughter our thanks for this.”

The King let out a hearty laugh and raised his glass. “In truth! Let us drink then to the Princess’s grace and beauty! May she be our Blessing for many seasons to come!”

Crystal and silver chimed across the room as the members of Court drank to the King’s toast, and as often happened Chisato found herself at the center of everyone’s gaze. Without thinking of it, she let her eyes dart aside to the far end of the table where she caught a glimpse of Kaoru raising her own freshly filled cup. Kaoru’s face twisted up as she tilted back her glass and the minister sitting beside her turned to her with concern.

“Prince Kaoru, is the wine not to your liking?”

“Ah, hahaha, it is quite exquisite, is it not?” Kaoru said with a broad smile, between coughs, “A truly bountiful vintage. It is as a great bard once said, ‘let us embrace thee, sour adversity, for wise men say it is the wisest course.’”

“Do you mean the wine?” the minister asked, still uncertain, “Does that phrase not refer to actions rather than drink?”

“Well,” Kaoru said, swirling the wine in her goblet with one hand, “it is open to interpretation, though it is essentially just that.”

The minister stared. “Just… what?”

“Yes,” Prince Kaoru replied, “just that.”

“Indeed!” A Duke seated near the center of the room raised his glass above the murmuring conversation and he smiled toward the Princess. “Were it not for her grace and patience, we likely would not have this feast before us. Hear, hear!” 

A quiet clamor rose and died like a wave lapping across the shore before its crest ever broke. Chisato smiled gently, nodded precisely, and held her voice just loud enough to reach the room but quiet enough not to echo through the hall.

“Thank you, Duke Calament, though I hardly grew these crops or raised these hens myself. You have your people to thank for such.”

“Darling, you are truly humble,” the Queen said, loud enough for the whole room to hear, “but you must appreciate our gratitude. Our prosperity is a Blessing, and you are that blessing, my dear.”

Before Chisato could even consider a reply, a Baroness spoke up from the far end of the room.

“You speak the truth, your Majesty. While I’ve never considered myself an inadequate diplomat, the Princess’s charm and poise are far greater than that of any other lady of the Court. Do you not think so, Prince Kaoru?”

As Chisato feared, the eyes of the room followed the Baroness’s question and everyone waited for Kaoru’s reply. The Prince framed her jaw with one hand and grinned with half-lidded eyes.

“She is indeed, far lovelier than words–though I have seen her wisdom prevail in far more dire circumstances than even that. Truly, she is wiser and more capable than I could ever hope to be.”

A boisterous laugh echoed against the ceiling and another duke, nearer to the dais, patted his belly and chuckled. 

“Oh dear Prince, you may yet be captivated by her beauty but you should take care: our Princess is not known to offer affections easily. That dispassionate stare which serves us all so well in negotiations with the merchants from across the sea has also broken enough hearts to man an entire fleet!”

Laughter spread through the room and even the King seemed amused, but the Prince simply nodded slightly to the Duke.

“It is true that her words are often cold, but so long as she allows it I will devote myself to her amusement and whim.”

“Thank you, Prince Kaoru,” Chisato said, watching her plate as she cut meat from the bone, “but I don’t recall making any such request.”

“Ahaha, she is fickle, is she not?” Duke Calament laughed, and his neighbors joined him loudly. “That smile is as beautiful and icy as a winter morning.”

Chisato’s hand tightened imperceptibly around her knife. This, too, was part of the Banquet… the moment when the members of Court spoke of their Princess Chisato as a thing both beautiful and cold and miraculous and almost inhuman. They mean everything as a compliment, the Queen would always tell her, and that was all the more reason for Chisato to feel ill at ease when the Princess becamethe topic of the hour. She simply had to smile and accept their words, as she had every night before.

“Thank you, Duke,” The Princess said, more than a little keen, “though I am hardly fit to be compared to frost on the ground.”

“Truly!” A Duchess called out from nearby, “My lord, you do her a disservice. Were the Princess a winter’s morn it she would be the dawn that followed a blizzard–a soft and pure white sheet of snow, several cubits deep.”

“Aha, how right!” Duke Calament laughed again, “Forgive me, Highness, for aligning you with something so mild.”

“Yes,” a baron began, “I think we owe a great deal to Princess Chisato’s impartial gaze, for without that–” 

“My lord...” 

The conversation broke with a jagged, grating screech as a chair slid away from the table and Kaoru stood at the front of the room. With the dais beneath her, she towered over everyone else in sight.

“I must ask,” she went on, “while I share your admiration for Princess Chisato, do you see her as cold and unfeeling before all else?”

The baron tried to smile but his laughter caught on his teeth. Kaoru glared sharply and her voice fell hard, completely absent any humor. After a moment of strained silence, the members of Court turned back to their plates and the last baron to speak up chuckled uncomfortably.

“Ah, yes, quite so, Prince Kaoru. The Princess is a lady of immeasurable talent.”

Kaoru took her seat again, but before she did she glanced aside and Chisato caught her gaze. It lasted only for the space of a breath, but in that time Chisato first felt grateful, then weary, and then furious. She rushed through her thoughts to form a reply to the Prince, something to chide her for drawing attention to Chisato’s discomfort, but she never got the chance to speak. 

“Yes, quite!” The King shouted with a wide grin that curled up through his neatly trimmed beard, “Well said, Prince Kaoru. It would be quite the disservice to my daughter to merely state one out of her many virtues, would it not, Duke Calament?”

“Ah, yes,” The duke bowed his head, his hands down at his side, “you are correct, as ever, Your Majesty.” 

“Of course I am!” The King’s grin faded and he emptied his cup, “She is my daughter and I will brook no insult against her, and when her virtues are so apparent is it not insult to ignore them? She is very plainly the most beautiful girl in this kingdom and far more suited to rule than any member of our family in generations.”

“Quite so,” The Queen added, “she is the hope of both our household and the land itself. Consider the agreements with the merchants of the Southern Oceans.”

Chisato set her silver down and tried to quiet her mind. This was the part of each banquet she hated the most.

“With ten ships in port, all full to bursting with spices and linens and steel of the highest quality, those merchants refused to budge until they received a frankly exorbitant fee for their goods.”

The Queen now had the attention of the entire room, every ear waiting for the rest of her story even though most everyone knew it by heart.

“And our councillors and ministers could make no progress with any of them, but our daughter managed to convince them that a storm was brewing offshore and that they had scarce days to leave ahead of it. The lot of them unloaded their cargo for almost half their asking price thanks to her insight… so you see, Prince Kaoru,” The Queen finally turned aside and met Kaoru with a still and measured smile, “our Princess is far more than beautiful. She is the cause of our Kingdom’s prosperity.” 

Princess Chisato answered as she had rehearsed.

“Thank you, Mother. I only do what I must to return the kindness and fortune I’ve received from the land. It is only thanks to you and Father, and to the Court, that I am able accomplish any of these feats.”

“Well said,” the Queen answered, her smile still holding steady, “though you are still too modest, my dear! You let all of us speak of your triumphs, and yet you sit quietly as we talk. Come, daughter, tell us what you’ve taken pride in these past days.” 

A chill swept across Chisato’s neck like a hand clenched around her throat.

“Very well,” the Princess smiled, “At your insistence… since we are on the subject of stubborn merchants, this past week I was able to convince the Masons’ Guild to hasten their contract with the palace and the nearest cities by more than a month. Their original pace would have seen towers of brick and cut stone delivered on the doorstep of the autumn rains and they would likely have lain untouched until spring.”

“Oh, very wise,” a baroness said. Another raised her glass and called out, “We can always trust your foresight, Princess.” The rest of the banquet hall joined in approvingly and nodded their appreciation, until the Queen spoke again. 

“My dear, you did well, however…”

The hall fell quiet and conversation continued in murmurs, but the Queen spoke firmly enough for even the maids at the far end of the hall to hear.

“I saw that you accepted their terms of being paid in gold rather than silver. My dear, it is dangerous to make such a concession.” 

“I–” Chisato barely spoke when the Queen smiled and her knife tapped loudly against her plate, cleanly slicing through a leg of turkey.

“You see,” The Queen went on, “the value of gold is far higher in other lands, and while the amount of their pay might be the same they can more easily turn a profit in foreign lands with gold. Their contract should have been hastened out of their sense of duty alone, and yet they used the error of its original terms to gain such an unfair advantage for themselves. My dear, you do understand, don’t you?” 

The Queen set down her knife and looked at the Princess, at Chisato, at something deep inside of her that Chisato desperately wished she could hide. There was no script for this conversation. Chisato couldn’t see a path forward. The Queen put a hand over Chisato’s own and gently held her fingers.

“You see, darling, if we allow the guilds to gain wealth in gold that they then spend beyond our borders, there will be far less in our kingdom and far more in the vaults of our neighbors. We must take great care not to fall prey to their dishonesty or they might fritter away all that we have worked to gain. Do you see?”

Princess Chisato forced her face into a soft and happily understanding grin. She felt so foolish, so useless to have madesuch a mistake, and then to proclaim in front of the entire court that she was proud of that failure. She felt sick. 

“Of course, mother. I hadn’t fully considered. I’ll take more care from now on.”

The Queen nodded and withdrew her hand. “See that you do, dear.”

“Ah, you are too harsh, my love,” the King said, patting his wife’s shoulder, “She is still a child, after all, her missteps are few, and she learns quickly, does she not?”

The Princess relaxed a bit and her brow softened. 

“Thank you, father.”

“You’ve no need to thank me, dearest. On another matter, though…” the King took another chunk out of his meal and surveyed the room, “I do not see Baron Ocioso with us this evening, is that right? Perhaps my eyes are aging more quickly than I imagined!”

“No, dear,” the Queen said, “the Baron sent his regrets just moments before we began, it seems that he has taken ill.”

“Ah,” the King shook his head and held his cup out as a servant poured him another glass of wine, “most unfortunate. I had a matter to discuss with him. You had the pleasure of speaking with him recently, did you not, my daughter?”

“Oh, yes,” Princess Chisato said, unsure of where her footing might fall, “just this afternoon. He reported an attack by bandits, though I was unable to investigate further at the time.”

“Bandits!” The King said with a sneer as he drained a gulp from his cup, “Dreadful, if it is true. We’ll send the guard to investigate at dawn. And I’ve heard that you are sending your own dower back to the Baron as well, my dear?”

“Yes…” Chisato answered, trying to hide the caution in her voice, “his townships are in need of service and repair and, while I cannot say that he will use the wealth I’m sending wisely, It is easier to gauge a man’s character by how he spends wealth given freely than by his words.”

“Ah, my daughter,” The King chuckled fondly, “your kindness is unparalleled.”

The Princess bowed slightly. “Thank you, father.”

“...but I fear you may still be naive in some regards.”

The King stared solemnly at the far wall and took another sip of his wine.

“You see, my dear, if it happens that the Baron does not use his wealth for his people, what recourse will we have? His people will still need patched rooftops and his towns still need level roads. Were the Baron to squander your generosity, where would we find the money to finance such necessities?”

Chisato heard her fork rattle against the table and she realized she her knuckles were gripped white around its handle. She bowed her head again.

“Of course, you are right, father. I apologize for the error.”

“It is no matter, dear,” the King said, smiling perfectly, “but see that you take greater care when dealing with-”

“Ah! What tragic plight!”

The members of Court all turned to see Prince Kaoru rising from her chair, jumping away from the table in dramatic fashion as her entirely full goblet splashed across her jacket and stained her entire outfit a deep, rusted red. As a pair of servants hurried to her side with towels, she posed with a hand on her forehead and another cast out behind her.

“Forgive me, your Majesties! My clumsiness has shattered both the peace of this wondrous meal and the fine embroidery of my vest. Ah! What unforgivable sin have I committed in the throes of carelessness!”

“Oh Prince Kaoru,” The Queen waved another servant over to her side, “please allow our staff to see to your clothes. Please,” she turned to the servants and pointed to the far hallway, “if you could, show the Prince to her rooms for the evening and find her a suitable replacement for her outfit while you remove these stains.”

“Oh, your Majesty!” Kaoru pressed a hand to her heart, “I am most honored and humbled with thanks. Truly, as a great bard once said, ‘Sweet mercy is nobility’s true badge,’ and it is so! I pray, forgive me all! My own oafish grasp has forced me to retire for the evening and— ah, my lady...” 

Prince Kaoru suddenly slid down to one knee and took the hand of the elderly minister seated to her left, looking up mournfully into her eyes.

“My lady, are you unhurt? Have I caused harm or injury to your dress with my blundering hands?”

“N-no,” the minister’s eyes fluttered and she glanced aside, slightly smitten, “I daresay I am well… thank you, Prince…”

“Of course,” the Prince grinned coyly, “I am glad of it. Now!” 

She stood atop the dais and made a sweeping bow. “Fare thee well and goodnight to you all, it was my honor to dine with you this evening, and especially you… Chisato.”

Chisato looked back at her, still grinning but with a strained calm in her eyes. She wondered, for a heartbeat, if Kaoru had spilled that glass on herself on purpose. She wondered, but only because she already knew the answer and she didn’t want to let it take a solid shape in her mind. As she met Kaoru’s gaze, all she could manage to say was, 

“Yes… Good night,” and then Kaoru was gone.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the banquet followed a familiar route through discussions of crop yields and the behavior of ambassadors, thankfully avoiding most mentions of the Princess until the King and Queen retired for the night. Not wanting to find herself in any further conversations that evening, Chisato took the narrow hallway that ran along the outer wall and hurried down into the terrace gardens. 

The night air was still and just warm enough to fend off the chill of the palace chambers. In the hidden alcove by the fountain, Chisato sat with Leon and watched the moons spin slowly overhead.

“That was foolish…” She muttered. She was chiding herself for more than one thing, but she couldn’t settle on a single fault to sort out. 

_ I’m still not as good at this as they think I am. I’ve been careless lately and I haven’t thought far enough ahead at every step… _

Leon whined and pushed his nose up under Chisato’s chin. She sighed and patted his head, leaning against him and staring into the fountain.

“The Princess… they have expectations of her that I can’t always meet. Leon… how can I be sure I won’t keep disappointing them? They said I hadn’t thought things through well enough… what more could I have done? I’m not sure where I’m going wrong…”

“That is a simple matter!”

Kaoru’s voice sounded from somewhere nearby and Chisato sat upright. By the time she climbed to her feet, Kaoru was leaping down the terrace garden stairs in a flurry of rose petals, mostly thrown from her own hands as she landed and crouched on the ground. She looked up and caught Chisato’s eye from around the corner of the hedge.

“Because you have done nothing wrong.”

“Kaoru…” Chisato almost sighed her name. She wasn’t particularly prepared to deal with a Prince so late in the evening, most especially not when she saw what Kaoru was wearing. Apparently, while the palace staff was able to find her a well-fitting pair of trousers they could not find her a shirt with functioning buttons and so there Kaoru stood, hands stained from rose petals and face cast in moonlight, with a loose linen shirt tucked in at her waist and otherwise completely unfastened. As tumultuous as Chisato found the sight, Kaoru herself seemed more sheepish by far. When she saw the red on Kaoru’s face, Chisato couldn’t keep herself from grinning.

“Dear Prince, you’ve come to visit in quite a state this evening.”

“Ah, y-yes,” Kaoru struggled to smirk and laid a hand on her chest, as much for modesty as dramatic flair, “it seems the ladies of the palace staff had a bit of difficulty finding a set of clothes that would suit me while they tended to my jacket. It is dashing, however,” She smiled awkwardly, “I fear this outfit may be too fleeting even for my own fleeting heart.”

Chisato laughed into her hand and she felt the tension leave her, for just a moment. 

“Oh? I think it suits you very nicely, Kaoru. Though if you do want something a bit more concealing, I can lend you a coat or a robe.”

“Ah, ahah,” Kaoru set herself more at ease and moved to join Chisato in the alcove, “I may take you up on that offer, though I’m finding myself more at ease in this as the hour goes by.”

“Hm,” Chisato said, catching herself staring at Kaoru again, “But should you not wait in the laundry for your jacket and shirt? Or rather…” She thought for a moment and then corrected her course, “Should you not have a retinue traveling with you, to carry your wardrobe and other necessities?”

Kaoru shook her head and glanced up at the moon, clearly having no idea what to say.

“Alas, in my eagerness at the prospect of our reunion, dearest Chisato, I may have taken to haste and departed earlier than initially planned.”

Chisato stared at her skeptically. “Just how much sooner?”

“...My retinue should arrive in about three weeks.”

Chisato blinked. “...Astonishing. That was such a bad idea. You’ve arrived here without any of your attendants and you didn’t even bring a single change of clothes, did you?”

“Ah,” Kaoru said with a sweeping gesture, “but the only garb I require in life is the truth, the moonlight, and your smile.”

Chisato’s laughter almost startled the birds resting in the hedges and the trees. She shook her head at settled her eyes on Kaoru lazily. 

“I’m afraid, dear Prince, that the sky will be clouded soon and tonight I may not be in the best of humor. The day has worn me thin and I–” 

_ Stop.  _ Princess Chisato told herself abruptly,  _ You don’t need to reveal that much to her. She cannot help you. _

Chisato held her thoughts and breathed in slowly, returning to the bench in the alcove by the fountain. Kaoru followed, but her face seemed quieter now and her eyes were piercing. She looked at Chisato and Chisato glared back.

“The Court seems to hold their Princess in high esteem,” Kaoru said, sounding almost grave, “and sometimes when they praise you, it sounds as if they’re speaking of an entirely different person.”

“That’s to be expected, isn’t it?” Chisato answered, turning away and staring at the moonlight spilling through the fountain, “To them, I am only the Princess. To the people in the cities and the villages, it is the Princess who tends to their needs and acts with the authority of the crown.” 

“Chisato…”

She glanced aside at Kaoru and went on, “My father often says that the Crown is more than merely the person who wears it. That’s true, and so it is only natural that I should fulfill the obligations and expectations that accompany it.”

From the corner of her vision, she could see Kaoru’s brow creasing as she set a hand on her hip.

“Chisato, are you truly satisfied and happy playing the role of their Princess?”

Perhaps, Chisato thought, and perhaps not. But regardless of her true feelings, Chisato held one thing as certain: whether or not she was happy, her obligations remained and she refused to abandon them. She looked back at Kaoru with a frigid glare and her eyes set in stone.

“And what of you, dear Prince? Are you truly a Prince now, so effortlessly dashing and confident in all things, always knowing exactly what to say?”

“Chisato, please tell me, are you truly–”

“You see, Kaoru,” The Princess said, “happiness is a wonderful thing, but whether or not threshing wheat brings anyone joy, it must be done or the Kingdom will starve.”

Kaoru’s eyes narrowed and her jaw tightened.

“But the expectations they want you to fulfill are ridiculous! Chisato, even though I do not understand–”

“Yes, that’s correct.” The Princess rose and looked Kaoru in the eye, and then beyond her, “You do not understand, Kaoru. If you did, you would know that I am no more likely to leave with you now than I was five years ago. Now, if you’ll excuse me… It’s been a long day and I need to rest.”

Kaoru stood in her way, but she didn’t hold firm. As Chisato approached she stepped aside, though her eyes followed Chisato all the way out of the gardens..

“I-” 

Kaoru choked on a word. It was strange. Chisato had thought that nothing could keep Kaoru from shouting some dramatic proclamation whenever she needed to. In any case, she was already determined to leave and she wasn’t going to let Princes or childhood friends or anyone else stop her. She kept everything out of mind as she climbed the steps and headed toward the palace. Then, as she stood at the top of the stairs, she heard footsteps racing up behind her.

“Chisato!” Kaoru stood at the base of the stairs with both fists clenched at her side, desperation etched across her face, “This time I won’t leave without you, I swear it. I won’t.”

Chisato watched her for a long moment, longer than a dozen breathes until she couldn’t stand it a second more.

“...Good night, Prince Kaoru.”

“Chisato, wait!”

But by the time Kaoru reached the top of the stairs, Chisato had wound her way through the palace halls and for the rest of the evening, she remained out of sight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Let us embrace thee, sour adversity, for wise me say it is the wisest course" comes from Henry VI, part 3, and in the original context it's a lamentation of the fact that everything is going pretty shitty for Henry, and his family, and most of England honestly. 
> 
> "Sweet mercy is Nobility's true badge," is from Titus Andronicus, in the very first scene where Tamora is pleading with Titus to spare her child. Spoilers: he does not.


	5. A Promise in the Forest

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Five years ago, Chisato and Kaoru were the closest of friends and rarely spent a moment apart. Five years ago, Kaoru's mother accepted a proposal from a king across the sea. Five years ago, Chisato's mother fell ill and she stayed by her side for an entire week. Five years ago, something happened that changed Kaoru and Chisato's relationship forever.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! And thank you so much for reading and for all of your comments :D  
> This chapter is largely a flashback to the events of five years' past and you may notice very quickly that Chisato and Kaoru are a bit different at 12 years old than they are at 17. 
> 
> As a general update, I'm hoping to have all of the chapters, or at the very least most of the chapters, posted before September 1st which is when the Romeo & Juliet event begins in the English version of Bandori. It's a bit ambitious but we've just got 3 chapters left and then the epilogue, so please look forward to it!
> 
> Also, as always I want to thank Izilen for her support and encouragement of my gay endeavors

Long ago in a kingdom across the sea, where the light of five moons filled the forest’s boughs, two children played at the forest’s edge. 

Copper bands bound their hands across the land and tides.

Flower crowns, knit with care, kissed their brow and eyes.

And when the dusk and evening came they clasped their hands and hid,

And when the dawn and morning rose, they stole away again.

And on the day when they were to part, Kaoru bent her knee,

To bare her fears and hopes that she could set Chisato free,

To ask if she would stay by her side, through distance, strife, and still,

To swear that she would be her bride,

And the Princess said, “I will not.”

 

* * *

 

Five years ago, Chisato had wandered through the Northern forests, hopping down the knotted roots of ancient trees that spiralled wider than the palace stairs. It was past midday and the sunlight filtering down through the canopy was almost as dim as dusk, but she knew the way by more than just her sight. She was following a peculiar sound, something that could only be heard in this forest and only on the rarest of occasions. She listened close and waited until she heard the familiar tone of a small thespian rehearsing in the shade of an elder oak. 

“Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs,   
Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes,   
Being vexed, a sea nourished with loving tears.   
What is it else? A madness most discreet,   
A choking gall, and a preserving sweet.”

Kaoru stood in the small patch of grass cradled between two enormous roots, as if the forest saw fit to grow its own amphitheatre for the badgers in the heather and the crows in the trees. She raised one hand up and laid the other on her chest, her eyes closed as her voice echoed through the wood and found Chisato’s ears. Chisato couldn’t help but smile.

“Ah, Kaoru. There you are.”

Chisato stepped down onto the grass and walked toward her. When Kaoru saw, she stopped in the middle of her line and ran to meet her.

“Chisato!” She reached out to take Chisato’s hands and Chisato held on fast. Chisato laughed to herself and then searched Kaoru’s person and the forest floor. She seemed puzzled.

“You don’t have the script today?”

“Ahaha, that’s right,” Kaoru looked smug and puffed her chest up, “After three full nights of study I’ve already memorized the whole of  _ Romeo & Juliet _ . Romeo’s part, at least.”

Chisato’s eyes widened. “That’s impressive. I want to hear it. If you’re on that scene, shall I play Benvolio?”

“Ah,” Kaoru glanced aside and her grin grew a bit uneasy, “Well, that is… I had to give the sides back to the great bard since he left the kingdom yesterday… and I didn’t think to copy them.”

Chisato laughed so hard she leaned her head onto Kaoru’s shoulder for support.

“Kaoru, you stayed up for three nights and you never thought to just copy them down?”

“T-that’s,” Kaoru’s face flushed and her smile shook, “because I did it to test myself. Yes. I had to rush headlong into the future, not knowing if I could accomplish my task, in order to test the limits of my passion for the craft!”

Chisato giggled. “I think you did it because you were too excited to consider practicality, but if you’d like we can leave it there, dear Romeo. Shall we start the tea?”

“Ah,” Kaoru’s neck turned pink and her ears reddened when Chisato called her ‘Dear Romeo’ and she began to stammer again. “Y-yes! I’ll get the cups!”

Minutes later, after they had both enjoyed a cup of tea and three and a half cakes stolen from the palace kitchens, Kaoru laid back in the soft grass with her hands laced together behind her head as she watched the light flickering through the leaves. With a bit more precision, but just as much disregard for the state of her dress as Kaoru had for the state of her own trousers, Chisato reclined across the grass as well. When she settled herself, she glanced aside and seemed displeased.

“Kaoru…”

“Yes, Chisato?”

“Must you lean on your hands like that?”

Kaoru glanced over to her. “What do you mean?”

Chisato grinned. “It won’t be easy for me to hold them as they are now.”

“Ah, ahaha,” Kaoru’s nervousness escaped as a laugh and she pulled her left hand away and offered it by her side. Chisato took it and wove their fingers together, taking time to frame the coarse copper band wound around Kaoru’s ring finger. She felt her chest lighten and her limbs felt almost numb and heady from an electric warmth.

“I’m sorry to impose like this so much lately,” Chisato said, slowly rubbing her thumb along the side of Kaoru’s hand, “If you’d rather not, I’d understand.”

“No! Not at all!” Kaoru spoke so suddenly her voice cracked and she and Chisato both laughed. They settled back against the grass with a sigh and the grass seemed to whisper along with them.

“It’s never an imposition.” Kaoru said, squeezing her hand back. For a time they lay in the quiet of the forest breeze, and soon the ravens fluttered from the trees.

“Has it been as hard as before?” Kaoru said between the rustling of the boughs, “at the palace?”

Chisato’s face twisted up with irritation and she let herself sulk. “Dreadfully, and I say that only as mockery because ‘dreadfully’ seems benign as of late. I’d gladly take a week of dreadful over these past two days…”

She sighed, and then, before Kaoru could reply, Chisato turned to face her and spoke again.

“There’s so much my parents tell me I’m doing wrong and even when I do things perfectly it’s not perfect in the right way! I don’t understand it… when I talk to the ambassador and everyone leaves content, they tell me it’s not the right sort of contentment. When I make a merchant settle on a fair price with a farmer, the ministers complain that it wasn’t fair in the right way. They always tell me I’m so wonderful and perfect and then scold me for doing everything wrong even when it goes well…” She smiled faintly and looked back up at the sky, “I’m sorry, in truth I’d rather not think of it now. I’d rather think of anything else, or nothing if it were possible.”

Kaoru flashed a bold and reckless grin. 

“Then I’ll still stay,” she said in a stage whisper, “to have thee still forget, forgetting any other home but this!”

For all her weariness, Chisato couldn’t keep herself from laughing.

“My, you are dashing,” she said, giggling into her hand, “when you’re using Romeo’s words.”

Kaoru laughed along, a trace of blush still clinging to her ears. When they were nearly calm and settled again, they looked at one another and laughed again. Alone in the ancient forest, they might have continued that way a while longer were it not for the sudden snap of a heavy branch nearby. At the sound of it, Kaoru shrieked and almost bolted upright. Chisato could feel Kaoru squeezing her hand even tighter and Kaoru moved as close to her as possible… until they both turned to see a single deer, fairly startled in her own right and frozen there in place. 

Kaoru chuckled awkwardly, still pressing herself into Chisato’s shoulder.

“Ah, ahaha… it was just a deer…” She waved faintly and called out to the deer, speaking with the utmost sincerity, “I’m sorry if I startled you, lady. We are not hunters; please think of us as the grass and the leaves.”

Chisato couldn’t help but want to tease her. “But if we were the grass, wouldn’t she eat us?”

“T-that,” Kaoru’s face went pale for a moment before she realized Chisato was only joking, and then Chisato giggled loud enough to startle the deer again, sending her leaping through the forest and behind the trees. When the glade was quiet again, Kaoru sighed. She looked more than a little harried and she let go of Chisato’s hand, sitting upright and staring down at her feet.

“Ah, ahaha… ha… that wasn’t very much like Romeo, was it?” Kaoru smiled wryly, “It’s not really dashing or brave to get scared of a deer…”

Chisato’s smile flattened out and she sat up, pressing a hand against Kaoru’s back. 

“It wasn’t like Romeo, and for that I’m glad. Doesn’t he end up killing Juliet’s cousin? I’m glad you’re not like him in so many ways.”

“You know what I mean,” Kaoru said.

Chisato moved closer and took Kaoru’s hand again. “I know that you mean to say that somehow being startled by a deer makes you a coward and thus unworthy in some way, and I also know that is untrue.”

“Is it?”

“It is,” Chisato said, smiling in earnest, “and if you think somehow that I would dislike you for shrieking at the sight of a deer and having such a cute startled face when you do, you’re mistaken.”

Kaoru’s face flushed and she floundered. “C-Chisato!”

Chisato laughed and rested her chin on Kaoru’s shoulder, “But it’s true. Kaoru, you are the one person who makes me feel as if I can laugh like that. You’re kind, and forthright, and at the risk of overpraise I think you’re far more charming than Romeo has ever been.”

“H-haha, well,” Kaoru grinned, still a bit uncertain, “That’s only because of my dedication to the role.”

Finally relaxing by a measure, Kaoru laid back down in the grass and Chisato joined her.

“Is that still your hope?” Chisato asked, “To become an Actor?”

Kaoru nodded. “Someday, when I’m better at it, I want to travel with a company and join them on stage all across the far continents.”

Chisato only said, “I’d like to see that,” and she closed her eyes as if imagining that scene.

There was silence for a time, but not in stillness as Kaoru kept fidgeting in place. She turned aside to Chisato and hurried to untie the knot in her throat.

“Chisato, do you remember what we said, in the garden when we were younger?”

Chisato glanced away with a coy grin. “Do I? We said a great many things in the garden. I’m not at all sure what you mean.”

Kaoru was frantic and scrambling for words. “On that night by the fountain! When you said…”

Chisato raised a hand to her mouth. “When I said what?”

“When you asked if-”

“Hm?”

Kaoru took a deep breath and then, with a gravity and care that Chisato wasn’t prepared to face, she said everything with perfect clarity.

“When we were in the garden, and you said you never wanted to marry any barons or dukes, and since I hated the idea too, you said that when we were older and I had my title, you could be my bride instead, and I could be yours, too.”

“That…” Chisato’s mouth hung open and she felt heat rising under her skin, “Haven’t I always worn the ring you gave me?”

Chisato raised her left hand up to the light and a dull, roughly wrapped copper band around her ring finger. They’d exchanged them as children, barely seven years old when they agreed that they would rather marry no one else but each other. Kaoru raised her left hand beside Chisato’s and laid the two bands side-by-side in the light that filtered down through the canopy. 

“I know that we haven’t talked about it in some time,” Kaoru said, “But we’re almost thirteen… I know we said that as children years ago, but there’s never been a day when I haven’t meant it, Chisato.” And then suddenly Kaoru flustered as she stared at Chisato’s face, “I-if you still want to, that is, of course…”

Chisato just stared for a moment and thought of it. She could marry Kaoru. Not yet, but someday, and she had sworn that Kaoru could join a theatre instead of being a baroness, and Kaoru had sworn that she would find a way to keep Chisato from having to keep playing out the Court’s masquerade. The thoughts rushed into her head so fast she felt like they must have all overflowed and escaped. She suddenly felt unnaturally conscious of them, as if Kaoru could somehow see all the things she hoped because she hoped them so fervently. Chisato wanted to tease Kaoru again to set them both at ease, but she couldn’t. Instead, she just laid her face against Kaoru’s chest and said,

“Yes… I’d like that.”

The wind swept through the high boughs and the forest was mostly still. Mostly, apart from the two blushing kids clinging to each other on the forest floor. When they were both absolutely convinced that the entire Northern wood could hear their heartbeats knocking against their ribs, they looked back up at each other, their faces incredibly close, and then they both sat up and turned away.

“Ah, Chisato, look at the hour,” Kaoru said, most certainly not looking at the hour or anywhere near it, “it’s almost dusk, I-I may need to make my way back.”

“Oh,” Chisato nodded, “Yes, of course. My mother and father will be expecting me before nightfall, we should go.”

“Yes.”

“Of course.”

“Before it gets too dark in the forest.”

“Yes, and it would be easy to lose our way here.”

Neither of them admitted that it was scarcely four hours past noon.

 

 

Later that evening, when Kaoru arrived home, she found more than a dozen carriages parked outside of her family manor, each of them bearing the crest of a King from across the sea.

 

* * *

 

“Princess! Princess Chisato!”

“You must come quickly, hurry!”

Before Chisato could even cross onto the palace grounds, a small crowd of her attendants surrounded her and rushed her off toward her mother’s chambers. She asked them what had happened, why she was being whisked away so swiftly and without warning, but no one would answer her over their own clamoring. Finally she braced her foot against a doorframe and held steady in the middle of the hall, demanding to know where they were taking her and why they were pushing her so hard.

“The Queen,” her wet nurse said at last, “She’s taken ill.”

 

“Mother!” Chisato stood in the doorway of the Queen’s chambers, only the light of three candles casting back the shadows over her mother as she lay pallid and limp in her bed. Chisato ran to her side and she felt her throat tighten as if there were spider webs choking out her voice. She knelt down beside her mother and reached for her hand. It felt feverish and her wrist bent with no resistance.

“M-my daughter…” The Queen groaned and then coughed, drawing back a pained and rasping breath, “P-please come closer, I cannot… see your face.”

“I’m here, mother, I’m…” Chisato held her mother’s hand and felt her own legs tremble. She’d never seen her mother ill before, and she’d scarcely seen anyone so weak and frail as the Queen was then. Most of those that she had seen in such a state before were often buried within the week.

“My daughter… so beautiful…” The Queen swept the back of her fingers across Chisato’s cheek and her hand fell limp at her side before she could draw it back. “I fear… the doctor says I may be gone from you before the week is out.”

Chisato’s ears were ringing. 

“That can’t be! What can we do? There has to be something!”

The Queen coughed and her voice came out in a harshe gurgle, the sound of it like the sound of a flailing bird. 

“My dearest… there is nothing else to do. Your father has searched for a remedy across all the lands, and he searches still… but I fear I am not able to persevere quite so long as he… I will… likely be gone soon.”

“No!” Chisato heard her tears falling on the bedsheets before she felt them on her face. She clutched her mother’s hand as tightly as she dared and pressed her forehead against her mother’s arm. “No… please, you cannot say that. We’ll find something, I swear…”

“Darling…” The Queen smiled more meekly than Chisato had ever seen in her life, “an illness this sudden and this dire… is not likely to pass so easily. It… was terrifying at first, but now, I only fear for you and your father…”

“Please,” Chisato sobbed, “Please don’t speak. Save your strength…” Though in truth, Chisato just couldn’t bear to hear her mother say such things. The Queen went on regardless.

“Chisato… promise me that you will carry on what we have done… what we have started…” The Queen coughed again and her attendants wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, “The kingdom… is in such a dire state, and I have not done enough. Oh, lady in the heavens, I have not done enough. Soon I will be gone. Your father will be in mourning. My child… you are the only one who can save this land. Please…”

The Queen fell silent, her eyes blank and her face cold as she stared at the far wall. Chisato tried to stand and take a closer look at her mother’s face, to make sure she was still breathing, but her legs wouldn’t serve her. She could only stare while the weight in her chest grew and grew and grew until the Queen finally spoke again.

“Please, my daughter… promise me you won’t abandon our people… Promise me that you will do what I could not…”

Still sobbing, Chisato buried her face at her mother’s side. “I swear it, I will…”

“And promise me… ah… I’m so selfish now at the end… my daughter, promise you won’t leave me…”

“I promise, so please don’t say such things!”

The Queen smiled, very precisely and with a knowing spark in her eyes. “I did not want to leave you like this, Chisato… but I fear… I have little time left. Please remember, you are the hope of our kingdom and our people… without you, they have nothing… but you have done so much for them already. You can do so much more. And I know that Princes and Dukes from across the sea will try to win your hand… because of all you can do for their kingdom… but please promise me… do not forget our people. You are their blessing... Do not abandon them. Do not leave-” 

The Queen’s voice rose and rose until she gasped and fell into a coughing fit, first strained and then so violent her attendants ushered Chisato out of the room and called for the doctor again. Chisato reached out for her mother’s hand as the attendants pulled her away, and after the Queen’s door was closed, Chisato waited in the hall for word. Every hour that passed, she only heard that her mother was still in grave condition. 

As the night wore on and Chisato waited in the palace halls, Kaoru waited outside in the terrace gardens in the alcove where she and Chisato always met. She turned the copper band on her left hand around her finger over and over as she paced back and forth, wondering when Chisato might arrive so that Kaoru could share her own terrible news.

 

* * *

 

In the week that followed, the Northern forest was quiet and no one visited the terrace gardens. Chisato kept close by her mother’s side while her health faded, and Kaoru spent her days frantically searching for a way into the palace around the newly posted guards and through the newly bolted gates. She never managed to meet Chisato during that week, and Chisato never left her mother’s side. With scarce days to spare, Kaoru threw a letter over the palace walls and asked Leon to carry it to Chisato swiftly. She only hoped that Leon found Chisato before anyone else saw the letter in his mouth. 

And then there was no time left. Kaoru’s mother, their household staff, and all of their belongings were loaded onto a ship at the Western port in preparation for their journey across the sea. Her mother had accepted the proposal of the visiting King from a faraway country and soon they would all be leaving the Land of Twenty Tithes. Since their early childhood, Kaoru and Chisato had rarely spent more than a week apart. Now, as Kaoru was set to leave for at the very least some number of years, she had no way of knowing if Chisato was even aware that she would soon be gone. She could only stand in the glade in the forest and wait, hoping that Chisato found her there before the guards sent to bring her back to the ship waiting in the port. 

Two hours after Baroness Seta’s ship was scheduled to depart, Chisato arrived in the forest glade. Kaoru ran to her and smiled wide, but when she approached she saw that Chisato looked weary and her eyes were strained and dark. Kaoru recalled the news she heard and she buried her excitement beneath her fears.

“Chisato… I was worried,” Kaoru reached her hands out, but Chisato didn’t move to take them. Kaoru reluctantly pulled her hands back to her side. “I haven’t been able to contact you and I heard your mother was ill…”

Chisato closed her eyes slowly and nodded once. “Yes… my father found a healer from a distant land who has been able to help, but she still hasn’t recovered fully.”

“That…” Kaoru clenched her fist to calm herself, “I’m glad to hear it, that she’s recovering at the very least.”

“Yes.” Chisato murmured, as if still half-asleep. Kaoru took a half step closer and hesitated.

“I’m sorry I haven’t been able to tell you before… I wanted to tell you myself but I couldn’t get into the palace and,” Kaoru stopped, suddenly terrified of what she was about to say. She had no time and little choice, though neither of those things made anything easy. 

“My mother,” Kaoru said, “is marrying the King of the Court of the White Rose…”

Chisato nodded, still distant. “Yes, I heard in Court just yesterday. He seems a kind man.”

“That,” Kaoru’s fingers began to tremble, “That may be so, but Chisato… They are leaving today. We’re leaving for the Court of the White Rose, today.” 

Those words finally stunned Chisato out of her torpor. Her eyes went wide and she blinked the sleep from them.

“Today? But, I was told-”

Kaoru hurried forward and took Chisato’s hand, looking right into her eyes.

“I didn’t want this to happen so soon,” Kaoru said, her voice firm and determined, “But we don’t have much time. The guards from the port will be here soon to take me aboard the ship, but if we run North of here we can reach Silverspring and be out of their reach.”

Those words ran over Chisato like water over an oiled rag. 

“Kaoru, what are you saying?”

Kaoru couldn’t hold herself back any longer and her face lit up in a swirl of excitement and apprehension and terror and joy. She held Chisato’s hands tight and moved even closer. 

“We can run away there and it could be amazing! You wouldn’t have to study accounting or spend all day arguing with diplomats or feeling exhausted all the time, and we could be actors and it could be like the time we spend in the forest every day! And, w-we,” Kaoru finally slowed down, glancing at the copper bands on their fingers, “we could do it, I think. We could find something wonderful-”

“No.” Chisato’s voice fell sharp and heavy, quick and decisive and without hesitation. Kaoru couldn’t help but waver. She was still smiling, bewildered and unsure, and she barely managed to ask ‘Why?’ before her voice failed her completely. Princess Chisato kept staring, though, and she never looked away.

“Kaoru, this isn’t a play or a performance. Why would you think I could ever just run away from my kingdom?”

“But-”

Princess Chisato shook her head. “It’s one thing to sit in the forest and talk about dreams, but if you are leaving then this is where we will have to part…” Chisato spoke before she fully understood what she was saying and while she didn’t regret her words at the time, each one felt bitter on her tongue and she hated the sound of them. 

“I cannot leave my kingdom or abandon my people, Kaoru,” She said, her voice firm but low, “no more than either of us could run away and live in a strange town with no means or prospects.”

“But you hate this!” Kaoru grasped her hands more tightly and Chisato glanced away. “You’ve always said you hated having to be The Princess and the things you have to do, and how much you wish you never had to force yourself to do all of that again!”

Chisato closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them her face was set in stone and ice. 

“Yes, I have complained to you in the past… but I am not so selfish I would forsake thousands of others for the sake of my own convenience or comfort. I’m sorry, Kaoru.” Princess Chisato pulled her hands away and pressed a copper band into Kaoru’s palm, just before she backed away.

“I won’t go with you.”

“Chisato, wait!” Kaoru reached out, but the heavy cadence of horse hooves and the rattling of swords drowned out her voice. As Chisato left the forest and returned to the palace, the guards of the Western Port apprehended Kaoru and escorted her to a waiting ship. Then without delay, she left for a land across the sea. For five years that followed, neither Kaoru nor Chisato heard a word from one another.

 

* * *

 

At the edge of the forest glade, Kaoru leaned against an ancient tree and turned a pair of copper bands over in her palm. She sighed softly and then cast her eyes up to the canopy with a hand across her collar.

“Ah, what bittersweetness is memory, what fleeting moments we shared… would that these old trees could speak to recall the fondness of our youth, that fleeting time!” She struck a pose as if waiting for an audience to applaud, but when the forest fell silent Kaoru wasn’t smiling. She sank back against the tree and looked again at the rings in her hand. 

“I wonder what would have happened, had I just stayed without making demands of her…”

“In truth, I doubt it would have gone very differently.” 

Kaoru spun around and found Chisato standing there before her, bare feet pressing down on the soft grass with Leon at her side. Kaoru pushed the rings into her pocket and bowed her head.

“Chisato, I apologize for my behavior last night, I-”

“No,” Chisato shook her head, “I should be the one apologizing. Kaoru, you have done nothing wrong. To be clear, I don’t think either of us is deserving of blame; there are just some things that absolutely must happen for the good of the Kingdom, whether or not they bring anyone happiness.”

Kaoru laid a hand over her heart and her eyes narrowed, calm and resolute.

“Even as that is, Chisato, there is no reason that you have to bear the burden of all of those things on your own. It cannot truly be selfishness to believe that you alone should not bear sole responsibility for the kingdom’s well-being, can it?”

“That… may be so.” Chisato admitted, though hesitantly. She could already tell that Kaoru’s words alone were changing the course of her carefully laid plans.

“Nevertheless,” Chisato said, “the wheat must be threshed. If no one else can or will, I won’t let my people starve.”

She caught the ghost of a smile on Kaoru’s lips and she heard the faintest laugh.

“Chisato, you are far kinder than the Princess you perform as in front of your Court.”

“Is that so?” Chisato grinned and hopped up onto Leon’s saddle, sliding her feet back into her riding boots in the stirrups, “I daresay the Princess causes much less pain. Now, are you coming along, dear Prince?”

Chisato looked down and waited while Kaoru blinked and cautiously follows her up onto Leon’s saddle. 

“Kaoru, you’ll need to hold onto me if you aren’t intent on falling over,” Chisato said, ruffling Leon’s ears.

“Ah, of course,” Kaoru grinned and placed her hands on either side of Chisato’s waist as if they were taking position for a waltz, “As you wish, my Juliet.” 

Chisato smiled to herself, out of Kaoru’s view.

“You’ve never shared a horse with anyone since we were children, have you?” Chisato reached down and pulled Kaoru’s hands forward, laying them across her stomach and pulling Kaoru against her back in the process. Kaoru opened her mouth to reply but before she could speak, Leon took off through the trees and leapt down through the forest valley. Soon they were clear of the Northern wood and Leon was racing across the plains.

“I would never dream to question the magnificence of your whims, Chisato,” Kaoru called out against the wind, “But where might we be bound?”

Chisato kept her eyes forward, never flinching as Leon darting between rocks and over streams.

“Do you recall my father’s words from the banquet last evening? When he said that he would send the guard to investigate the so-called bandits who attacked Baron Ocioso?”

“Yes,” Kaoru said, “or rather, vaguely. I recall the spark of your words as they drifted through the hall more than any–oof!” 

Leon jumped over a tall hedge and Kaoru’s chin almost knocked against Chisato’s shoulder. 

“Have they found them?” Kaoru finally managed to ask.

“No, you see,” Chisato said, “I sent the guard out as soon as I returned to the palace, before the banquet even began and before my father ever thought to call on them. I received word from the captain this afternoon–it seems that the Baron was robbed, but his stolen goods were found in a very peculiar place…”

“Ah, and there is intrigue afoot?” Kaoru said, grinning and waxing dramatic, “So we two are now off to investigate this mystery with only our wits and the bonds of trust between us to see the case to its conclusion?”

Chisato patted Leon’s head. “Yes, something like that.”

And there they stopped, at the far eastern edge of the Land of Twenty Tithes, far beyond the farthest village and past the point where every road came to its end. There, in the seemingly endless sea of overgrown fieldgrass and fallow boulders, Chisato and Kaoru stood at the entrance to the ruined, abandoned palace that once served as the kingdom’s capital. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs//Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes//Being vexed, a sea nourished with loving tears.//What is it else? A madness most discreet//A choking gall, and a preserving sweet."  
> This line is from Romeo & Juliet very near the beginning when Romeo is complaining about his terribly unrequited crush on Rosaline.
> 
> "And I'll still stay, to have thee still forget//Forgetting any other home but this."  
> Another of Romeo's lines, this time during the Balcony scene in the Capulet's orchard. Juliet calls Romeo back and then promptly forgets why she did, so he teases her and says he'll just hang out till she remembers. She says that won't work because she'll just think about how much she likes having him around and he's like "haha, that's cool! just like. drink it in, babe." well, sort of.


	6. Storm and Folly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After arriving at the ancient, abandoned palace, Chisato and Kaoru investigate the pile of stolen gold and goods in hopes of uncovering the culprits. Unfortunately, they do.
> 
> This chapter also contains a gratuitous amount of kissing and tenderness, so please be prepared for that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to Izilen for beta reading and also generally knowing a thousand times more about Regency, Historical fiction, and Monarchy.
> 
> This chapter was a lot of fun to write and I hope you enjoy! The story will be wrapping up very quickly from here on, but in addition to chapters 7, 8, and 9, please be on the lookout for Chapter 6.5!
> 
> I'm going to post chapter 6.5, The Folly in the Storm, separately from the rest of this work since that particular chapter will be rated Mature o/////o

Long ago in a land where the silver lily bloomed, a Queen sat on a throne of steel and gold and demanded her people’s devotion. No matter what praise they heaped upon her, however, the Queen felt as if she was yet unloved. With a heart like a sieve, all the affection poured over her soon spilled out across the ground. And so the Queen demanded Proof.

Proof that she was loved. 

Proof that her people were loyal.

Proof that her position was secure and that none were whispering spite for her in their homes.

But what Proof could the people offer to a Queen with a heart like a sieve? What proof could they offer but Sacrifice?

At first the Queen demanded a tithe, double the amount each citizen was usually asked. The wealth and Sacrifice that surrounded her smoothed over the holes in her heart… for a time. Soon she needed more, and in order to feel loved again she demanded four tithes, then six, and then eight.

In order to offer twenty tithes to their Queen, the people Sacrificed all that they had. 

When she had demanded the Sacrifice of her entire nation and when she had surrounded herself with the Proof of their love, the Queen felt only a moment of peace. 

What happened thereafter is as yet unknown, but three things are certain:

The people abandoned the land and in their new homes, they flourished.

The Queen was never seen again and her castle lay in ruins.

And the silver lily never again bloomed within that kingdom, not until Chisato was born. But by then, everyone had forgotten the tale of her great-great-grandmother, and not a soul alive remembered how their kingdom first received its name.

 

* * *

 

“Your Highness!” The captain of the royal guard saluted as Chisato entered the abandoned palace keep. The Princess smiled and nodded to him and he relaxed, returning his hand to the pommel of his sword.

“Thank you, Captain,” The Princess said as she paused beside him, “We’ll continue investigating from here. While we do, please return to the palace and prepare a contingent of guards and wagons to retrieve the stolen goods.”

The captain bowed. “Of course, Your Highness. Shall I leave two men at the gates for your assistance?”

“Thank you, but there’s no need,” Chisato said, grinning slightly, “Should there be any danger, I’m certain that Prince Kaoru will be more than capable of serving as my escort.”

Chisato and the Captain looked back to the entrance of the hall where Kaoru was presently ruffling Leon’s ears and scratching his chin. They both stared, and then Chisato sighed.

“Captain,”

“Yes, Your Highness?”

“Please take Leon back to the palace with you as well, I believe it may be time for his afternoon meal.”

The Captain nodded. “Of course, Your Highness. We will then be off presently and weather prevailing, we shall return before evening.”

Princess Chisato smiled. “Thank you, Captain,” And then, loud enough for the entire hall to hear, “Prince Kaoru, shall we continue to the interior?”

“Ah, of course,” Kaoru said with a bold sweep of her cape, just as the Captain led Leon away, “let us away to discover the truth of this villainous theft!”

Chisato continued down a side corridor without pausing to wait for Kaoru, but only truly because the distance between them afforded her a moment to grin fondly to herself before Kaoru could see her face.

 

* * *

 

“These portraits…”

“Oh, yes,” Chisato followed Kaoru’s eyes across the walls as she studied the faded, dust-caked paintings hanging around them, “I don’t know precisely who all of them might be, but they should be the members of the royal family from several generations ago.”

Kaoru stopped, studying the silver frame around a large portrait of a woman whose face and skin had long since faded from the canvas. 

“I would have thought these portraits would have been carried to the new palace, else stolen by bandits by now.”

Chisato’s eyes traveled over the slashes across the portrait’s throat and the crest of the silver lily engraved into the frame.

“My great-great-grandmother’s Court was widely reviled, as I’ve heard,” Chisato said, glancing to another portrait covered in tears and gouges, “though I know little else about her. I’ve always heard that this palace was abandoned intentionally and my great-grandparents decided very intentionally to leave all traces of the prior generation behind. I’ve no idea what might have moved them to act in such a way, though it has been rumored to be the work of a curse.”

A sharp crash echoed through the hall and Chisato turned to see Kaoru half crouched against the wall as a large portrait hit the ground beside her. She flashed an uneasy smile and pushed the now broken frame aside.

“Ah, it,” Kaoru laughed nervously, “it seems this palace is in quite the state of disrepair.”

“Hm,” Chisato raised a hand to her mouth, “That may be so, though is it not odd, Prince Kaoru, that the only portrait to fall was the one hanging next to you at the moment I mentioned the prospect of a curse?”

“N-no, certainly now,” Kaoru’s grin faltered for a moment and she placed a hand to her forehead in dramatic fashion, “it was merely my sleeve which caught on the edge of the frame. Ah, how fleeting and transient the existence of these timeworn arts!”

Chisato grinned behind her hand. “If I do recall, you had a terrible fear of ghouls and witches as a child, didn’t you Prince Kaoru?”

“Ah, so terribly fleeting,” Kaoru cupped her hands around her heart, trying to ignore Chisato’s words, “That something so simple as my artless stumbling should cause this art itself to stumble to its demise!”

Chisato couldn’t help herself. “Oh, but I suppose,” She said, moving along just a few steps ahead, “with the palace abandoned in such a state, it could have been the work of a spirit as well.”

A sharp gasp told her that she hit her mark and suddenly Kaoru was at her side, arms crossed as she glanced back and forth across the hall. 

“Oh,” Chisato looked up at Kaoru’s paling face, “Did you catch a glimpse of one?”

Kaoru glanced away, clearly at a loss. “C-Chisato, please.”

Chisato laughed, placing a hand on Kaoru’s arm to steady herself. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” She said, pausing for a breath, “I didn’t expect you still to have such a strong reaction. It isn’t terribly prince-like,” Chisato stood and smiled, “though I think it’s very much like you, Kaoru. It’s endearing.”

Kaoru cleared her throat and stepped ahead, through a doorway beneath a set of stone stairs before turning to wait for Chisato there.

“Shall we continue?”

Still grinning and thoroughly content with the shade of blush on Kaoru’s cheeks, Chisato hurried to meet her. 

“Yes, by all means.”

 

* * *

 

As the guards had indicated, the goods stolen from Baron Ocioso lay stacked into a small mound in the grand banquet hall. Even without a list of the Baron’s lost goods, Chisato could easily trace the wealth laid out before her back to his holdings. Crude Iron taken from the cliffside mines, carved redwood in the style of the Northern villages, and then golden ingots stamped with the Baron’s seal all sat in stacks across the cobweb encrusted dining tables, all absent the thick blanket of dust found on nearly every other surface in the abandoned keep. She even found the candelabra the Baron mentioned to her, alongside several bolts of fine linen and a fairly reckless assortment of jewelry and dressing gowns that Chisato assumed were meant to be the final portion of her dower. She was unimpressed.

“Curious, is it not?” Kaoru said, stroking her chin with great thought and attention, “This pile of treasure, it is profoundly curious.”

Chisato glanced aside to her.

“Curious in what way?”

“Well,” Kaoru smiled, closing her eyes and spreading her hands out as she motioned vaguely to the entire room, “That is, of course… in the usual way you might expect.”

_ Ah, _ Chisato thought, smiling to herself,  _ She has no idea. Still, she’s certainly eager to help, though if she’s trying to impress me then- _

A glimmer caught Chisato’s eye and she lost all thought for a moment. Why hadn’t she realized before now? How had she overlooked the sheer size and depth of the hoard in this room, spread out across banquet tables and heaped upon chairs until they nearly buckled under the weight. The abandoned dining hall held more than three times the treasure that would have been required to complete Chisato’s dower, and given that Baron Ocioso pushed his estate and his holding into a state of disrepair simply to complete the gift it seemed unlikely that he could have easily stowed so much wealth in excess. 

That brought Chisato back to the glimmer in the corner of the room, a bright flash that flickered in the gleam of the lone torch burning on the wall. It came from a small vanity mirror framed in alabaster and gold filigree, then faintly etched with the Baron’s house crest. It was small, tacky, and utterly useless as a mirror, which is why Chisato had sent it off to the royal treasury along with the rest of the dower she received from Baron Ocioso nearly six weeks prior. The skin of her hands went cold and Chisato staggered back.

“How… why is that here?”

Kaoru glanced across the room and, seeing Chisato unsteady, she leapt clear across the banquet table and hurried to catch her as she tripped backwards over a stack of iron ingots. She barely seemed to notice Kaoru while she stared at the vanity in the corner.

“What is it? Chisato?”

Kaoru held her shoulders gently, but Chisato just shook her head and then bit her knuckle, losing herself deep in thought.

“That couldn’t be here unless it was taken from the treasury… I only just asked the Minister of Finance to make preparations to return my dower to the Baron last night, how could it be here already? We would’ve heard if bandits had stolen it from the treasury or attacked a carriage en route…”

“Ah, I see,” Kaoru grinned and framed her chin with her hand, “then we are dealing with no common thieves but rather a most masterful phantom thief! And for what other purpose could she be gathering such treasures here but to offer the treasure up as tribute to a dragon or some other terrible beast! ...Chisato?”

Kaoru waited but Chisato didn’t reply, not even to dismiss her theory out of hand. She was still staring at the piles of treasure in the corner of the room and tracing the possibilities that unfurled before her.

“Unfortunately, there is a far simpler explanation than masterful thieves…” Chisato finally said, her voice low and flat, “and it is that the same person who stole from the Baron Ocioso has also been stealing from the royal treasury, and if that is the case then…” She hesitated, unsure of what might happen when she spoke the words and made them real. Still, she saw no other path forward.

“Then the culprit must be someone from within the Court. Could it be the Baron himself? No,” Chisato shook her head and waved the thought away, “It would have to be someone of high enough rank that they would not raise alarms if something went amiss from the treasury… or someone who could silence any alarm raised.”

Kaoru’s eyes narrowed and her brow tensed. “That would leave very few suspects to consider.”

“Yes, that’s right,” Chisato said, “And in fact it means that the only real suspect would be the Minister of Finance. I asked her just last evening to make the arrangements to return the dower to Baron Ocioso, and were she not complicit I cannot imagine any reason she wouldn’t have brought the disappearance of a dower to my attention. Still…”

Chisato shook her head and creased her brow, “No, it doesn’t matter how trustworthy she’s been in the past. If there is no one else who could have committed the crime, then this is the only possibility.”

“Ah, but Chisato,” Kaoru crossed her arms and nodded, seeming very confident in herself, “You may yet be too hasty. You say that it could not be a dashing phantom thief, but look!”

Kaoru pointed to the stone floor, largely coated in dust and debris apart from several footprints that seemed to track through the room, turn sharply, and then disappear right into a stone wall.

“Who, but a thief capable of the magical arts could manage such a feat? And if she were able to do such a thing, surely stealing from the palace treasury and leaving an illusion it the place of the real treasure would be a simple task.”

Chisato grinned, albeit dryly, “It is fascinating that you seem perfectly at ease with the idea of a magical thief and yet the mere mention of a real phantom sends chills down your spine.”

Kaoru cleared her throat. “Ah, that is because… those are two completely different things, I assure you.”

“Your assurances are most appreciated,” Chisato said, though she couldn’t keep up a smile for more than a moment. For all that she might tease Kaoru, there were in fact footprints in the dust that led from one end of the dining hall to the other, and then near the base of the far stairs the footprints turned sharply and marched right into, and seemingly through, a solid stone wall. She allowed herself to wonder, only for a second, if Kaoru might be right and that all of the blame for this might lie on some unknown phantom thief hiding in the shadows. Unfortunately, Chisato knew that it did not.

“There must be a secret passage here,” She said, carefully stepping over the treasure and searching the wall, “the wall must open or fall away here.”

“Ah, yes,” Kaoru gave her a sagely nod, “Surely it is as you say. So then, our phantom thief used a hidden doorway to conceal her passage! Very well, I’ll search the entire room and discover its secret presently!”

Chisato’s lips twitched as she searched across the room. 

“Thank you, your help is greatly appreciated, Dear Prince.”

After only five minutes, the Dear Prince managed to break three candelabra, two banisters, and a small chandelier in the process of searching for some form of switch, rune, button, or lever that would reveal the secret passage. While she hadn’t been quite so destructive, Chisato was facing a similar result. Every loose stone brick in the wall turned out to be just that, a loose brick and not at all a secret switch or button. It was only by chance that she saw the small stone tile nestled into the mortar on the bricks beneath the stairs. It was smooth with age and wear but clean and clear of dust, and the design was one Chisato knew painfully well.

“The silver lily… I wonder…” She ran her fingers over the tile and lingered there for a moment, and then Chisato did something that she would quickly regret. On a whim, she raised her right hand and pressed her signet ring into the tile. She felt it click.

“Ah, surely this chandelier is the fated-” Kaoru froze where she stood atop the table and dropped the chandelier in her hands as the sound of grinding stone filled the hall. With great effort, the wall sank back and revealed a secret passageway exactly where they had expected. Kaoru jumped down from the table and grabbed the torch from the wall, nervous excitement scattering in the firelight on her face. Chisato joined her slowly, almost in a daze.

“Shall we?” Kaoru offered her arm and surprisingly, Chisato took it without a word. Her eyes were unfocused and she carried herself wearily, enough so that Kaoru couldn’t stop glancing aside at her as they made their way down the winding passage. The narrow path eventually opened into a wide chamber with a high ceiling and a single, smoldering brazier standing at the end of the hall. When Kaoru lit the coals in the brazier, a towering stack of gold and finery cast its massive shadow across the far wall. Bolts of silk and porcelain statues rested between tapestries woven with silver and gowns cast in lace. The hoard of treasures piled there was nearly ten times the size of the pile from the dining hall and each piece looked to be at least twice as valuable. 

“This cannot be the work of any one thief,” Kaoru said, the apprehension growing in her voice, “and were it not such a narrow hall behind us I would not hesitate to believe this to be a dragon’s spoils. Perhaps the Minister is working in secret with bandits in the countryside? Or perhaps pirates anchored off the coast?”

Kaoru raised her torch to look over the mountain of gold and rare goods, but when she moved to get a closer look she felt Chisato holding her in place.

“No.” Chisato’s voice was frail but definite, cracked but still heavy and firm. “This is not the work of the Minister of Finance.”

Chisato looked down darkly and raised her right hand, letting the light glow across her signet ring and the crest of the silver lily.

“You see, Kaoru, this secret passage only opened when I used my signet ring.”

She looked up at Kaoru and there was an emptiness in her eyes that drank the firelight and gave nothing back. When she spoke again, her words fell like blocks of ice.

“In all the kingdom, there are only three people who bear the seal of the Silver Lily. Two of them are my parents...”

The only sound on the air was the soft crackle of the torchfire. Kaoru’s jaw went slack and she formed a word on the edge of her teeth, but it faded in the emberglow. Chisato only stared, tracing the shape of every piece and pile of gold in the room. The weight of the air was suffocating and when Kaoru finally managed to speak, she felt as if she had to gasp for breath.

“Then their rings were stolen!” Kaoru mustered all the certainty she could and tried to meet Chisato’s eyes. “If not recently than perhaps long ago, I'm sure your father-”

“He wore it last night.” Chisato’s voice barely broke a whisper and her eyes were still fixed on the stolen goods laid out before her.

“If a thief had stolen it in the meantime, they would have had to empty nearly half the Treasury in the span of an hour. Though beyond that…”

Beyond that Chisato could see the results of her tireless work for the kingdom, and they were standing on a stone floor in front of her. The barrels of goods that were meant to pay back the creditors who lent the palace gold. The gold that Chisato had promised as payment to the mason’s guild. The treasures men had foisted upon her in hopes of winning her hand. Was it more troubling, Chisato wondered to herself, that she saw so much of her own gifts here or that she saw so little of their sum total? How much was truly still in the palace Treasury, and how much had already been sold or melted down for silver?

“Then the thieves stole the ring long ago and made a copy!” Kaoru leaned down, looking up to face Chisato directly, “a metalsmith or jeweler could do as much, and this palace has been abandoned for decades so-”

“Stop. Kaoru… that's enough… there's no need to try so hard when the answer is so… obvious. Aha…” Chisato let out a faint, bitter laugh, “it really is obvious, now that it's all laid out in front of me…”

“Chisato, that's…”

But Kaoru couldn't speak the rest of her thought. It seemed suddenly too cruel to say that a parent would never do such a thing, especially when they were both increasingly certain that Chisato’s parents had, in fact, been embezzling from the kingdom and from Chisato herself for years. 

Chisato was still grinning bitterly at her reflection in a stack of gold and her face was drawn and pale. 

_ Was this really it?  _ She thought, _ Is this why they've always sent me out to handle all the business of Court while they remained in the Palace? Each time they chided me in front of the entire Court, was that all to keep me from discovering their true intentions? Did they simply enjoy humiliating me?  _

She was numb, from her skull to her guts and in ways she had never felt numb before. Her mind was almost untethered and drifted between moments of her life, wondering when her parents had been sincere and when they were merely hiding their theft and tricking Princess Chisato into concealing it for them. Her stomach soured and churned, and then she remembered the suitors she had seen before Kaoru, the eagerness in her father’s voice as he welcomed them, and then their screams as they were executed before the Court. Her feet moved before she knew that she was running.

“Wait, Chisato!”

Kaoru’s voice echoed through the hall around her but by then, Chisato had gone too far to stop. Momentum compelled her as she sprinted and stumbled out of the ancient palace, breaking one shoe and leaving it as she scrambled to reach the entry hall. The sky was already grey and rain splashed across her face as she leaned against the outer wall, hunched over and panting. She raised a hand to her mouth and she nearly retched in the grass. 

“Why… why didn’t I notice? How completely useless…” 

Footsteps sounded through the grand hall behind her and their cadence kept time with the rain. Chisato couldn’t focus on either; every moment she stood still she couldn’t help but think of her parents and what they’d done. Staying there in the abandoned palace was too painful. Standing still was too painful. Thinking was too painful, and so Chisato ran.

Thunder hummed in the distance and the storm-slicked grass twisted like ivy under Chisato’s feet. She ran in no direction but toward the rain and when the wind stung her face she could almost forget. Then a new memory would flash across her eyes and she couldn’t stop herself from remembering. The trade agreements her father insisted she renegotiate-was that all to hide the fact that he had already spent the goods he promised the merchants months before? Her mother’s illness five years ago and her sudden recovery-was that a lie too? 

Rain washed away her vision and Chisato slipped, tumbling into the mud and scraping her hands on loose gravel. She struggled up to her feet again and faltered, falling again to her knees and panting as the rain soaked her hair and beat against her back. The wind mixed with the thunder and pounded against her ears, almost as loud as the sound of her heart beating against her bones. She tried to stand again and slipped, but this time she felt herself floating off of the ground. She wiped her eyes and though she couldn’t hear her voice over the rain, she saw Kaoru standing behind her and holding her upright. Chisato wrenched herself free and pushed Kaoru back as she stumbled away.

“Stop! Just stay away from me!”

Chisato shambled on through the storm and Kaoru rushed to join her, and again Chisato tried to push her back.

“Chisato, wait!”

“I said stay back!” Chisato swung her arm out it landed with a weak thud against Kaoru’s chest. Kaoru looked down at her with more worry than anger and Chisato couldn’t stand it.

“Just Stop…” Chisato choked out the words and she collapsed against Kaoru, leaning against her with all her weight. “Stop reaching out like that, without spite or anger or pity… I hate it.”

“Chisato…”

“Stop!” Chisato pushed away and staggered off down the hill, through the driving rain and toward an old abandoned Folly. Its single door was rotted off its hinge and though its lanterns were dry and rusted, the walls and roof yet held against the storm. Chisato had exhausted herself running and thinking and remembering so quickly; the moment she was out of the rain, she fell on her side onto stack of dust-covered crates. When she looked up, she found Kaoru standing at the far end of the room, leaning against a wooden beam and keeping herself as well out of sight as the dilapidated Folly allowed. 

Chisato couldn’t stand it.

She watched as Kaoru pulled off her jacket and hung it from a nail dangling from the rafters. She pulled off her boots and gloves and tossed her cape across the wire where the dry lantern swayed, and all of this she did in silence. All of this, Chisato thought, she did without saying a word or asking or looking back at her or stealing a glance at the useless Princess covered in mud and wet grass. She couldn’t stand it. She sat upright through force of spite alone and she glared daggers across the room.

“Why did you come back?”

Chisato’s voice cracked even as her brow creased. Kaoru paused where she stood, finished hanging her shirt, and then dropped her hands to her sides.

“Why!?” Chisato shouted over the rain and clenched her fists. “Why did you come back? Why did you bother when I was so cruel as you were leaving? Why do you stay when I’ve been so callous? If you pitied me I would understand. I’m sure the members of the Court all know.” She turned away, her hand shaking. 

“They must pity me, or else despise me. My parents’ loyal Princess who always helps them steal from their nobles and cheat their merchants and argue over pennies while they steal wagonfuls from their own treasury. So why won’t you!? If you pitied me, then at least I could hate you for it.”

“Chisato…” Kaoru met her eyes for only a moment, then lowered her gaze. Chisato clenched her jaw and her fingernails dug into her palms.

“I’ve been a fool this entire time. I truly believed…” Chisato’s breath caught on her teeth and she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment to steady herself. “Every time I doubted them and told them as much, somehow they always had the most perfect reasoning. Every time I questioned them I always left feeling as if I’d been wrong to do so. When I pleaded with them to stop the executions, my mother told me of all the suitor’s crimes they had discovered miraculously after he was dead. Maybe some of it was true… but I can’t believe any of it anymore.”

“None of that is your fault.” Kaoru finally took a step toward Chisato, her face solemn and gentle and firm. Chisato scowled, more at herself than anything.

“Fault hardly matters at this point. Actions cause harm whether their intent is ill or good,” She said, “and I was so willing to trust and believe despite all the times I doubted them. I was so incredibly naive…”

Chisato felt her throat tighten and her chest ached. She could feel herself teetering on the edge of tears but she refused to allow it. Kaoru stepped closer and held out a hand which Chisato ignored.

“Chisato, please don’t say-”

“How foolish and useless?” Chisato scoffed at herself, “What good is a Princess who takes so many years to realize something which seems so obvious now? What good is a Princess who’s still afraid the Court will hate her? She’s so… incredibly weak and useless, and I-”

Warmth wrapped around Chisato and she felt a rush of lightness all around her as Kaoru pulled her close and embraced her. Kaoru’s hands held tight against Chisato’s back and Chisato’s head rested on Kaoru’s chest, and just that slight fragment of relief was enough to set Chisato on the verge of tears again.

“Chisato, please don’t say any more.” Kaoru cupped the back of her head with one hand and held her close, “They may have decieved you and hurt you, but do not do their work for them… not in this. Please, not in this. Do not hurt yourself more over them…”

And that was it. That was all it took to send Chisato hurtling over the edge as she flung her arms around Kaoru’s neck and sobbed against her chest. She was gasping for breath and cold and weary as Kaoru stroked her hair. As she cried, Chisato could hear the composure break in Kaoru’s voice.

“Chisato, are you…”

“I am not crying,” she said, tears streaming down her face and across Kaoru’s collar, “I am not. But please… don’t move. Please let’s just stay like this…”

“...Alright.”

And Kaoru gladly followed her word.

 

* * *

 

After the better part of an hour, the thunder was still booming overhead even as the rain abated. In the interim, Kaoru managed to find a lantern of dubious quality stashed in a crate on a high shelf; it was filled with a strange and sickly black ooze that didn’t particularly resemble lantern oil, but it was reasonably flammable and not at all explosive. For the time being, they had a single, flickering light to share. As soon as Kaoru set the lantern hanging, she returned to the crate where Chisato sat and as soon as she joined her, Chisato leaned aside and rested her head on Kaoru’s shoulder. 

Compared to the hour before, Chisato felt better by a measure though still decidedly horrendous. Her face was now more wet from tears than rain and her eyes were thoroughly bloodshot, but all told she could very earnestly say that it wasn’t the worst she’d ever felt.

“I must thank you, Kaoru…” She said, quietly and with a wry grin, “I do feel better after having cried on you for so long. I must look like an unsightly beast after all of that.”

“If you consider yourself a beast,” Kaoru placed a finger on Chisato’s chin and raised her most Princely voice, “Then you must be the loveliest beast of all.”

Chisato burst into laughter and pushed Kaoru away slightly.

“Kaoru, I’m afraid your flattery could use more rehearsal. Though I thank you for the sentiment at least…” 

Chisato settled back and leaned against Kaoru once more, sighing quietly and staring at the far wall. She still felt ill and her limbs were still weak, whether from shock or from her sprint through a thunderstorm she wasn’t sure. Still, despite all of that she finally felt as if she stood on solid ground again. It was as much a terror as it was a relief.

“...In truth,” She said said, her voice still quiet and crackling, “it’s not likely that I’ll stop feeling as if I’ve swallowed a spoonful of venom for some time… but I’ve accepted it. I’ll confront my parents and, from there…”

Kaoru looked to her softly, “From there?” 

Chisato only smiled. “From there, I’ll do what I’ve always done. I cannot pretend to know what will happen, but I haven’t been bickering with ambassadors and negotiating on behalf of the Court all my life for nothing. A Princess can do at least that much.”

“I see,” Kaoru said, her smile a bit distant. She leaned back on her hands and stared up at the cackling lantern as it popped and hissed.

“Earlier, you asked me why I came back,” Kaoru said, watching the fire still, “It was because I always meant to. You still seem to hate being The Princess and I don’t wish to see you continue playing a role you hate, even more now that it’s caused you even more pain. There was nothing more to it than that.”

“Ha,” Chisato laughed, weary and dry, “Perhaps you haven’t changed quite so much as I first thought, Kaoru. You are still quite terrified of ghosts, after all.”

“Ah, ahem,” Kaoru cleared her throat and Chisato giggled again, and once she fell quiet Kaoru went on.

“I must confess, when you found me by the coast searching for the Silver Chest, I had every intent of burying it in a field. I’m sorry I was not more forthright, but I feared that if I carried it myself, it would shout something terrible in the presence of your Court.”

“Something terrible?” Chisato tilted her head, puzzled, “From you? I’m not entirely sure I find that believable, Kaoru.”

“Well,” Kaoru grinned wryly and shrugged, “I could hazard to say that ‘I’d rather the Princess did not exist’ or any number of similar thoughts might be easily misunderstood in the presence of the King and Queen.”

“Hm,” Chisato thought to herself a moment and nodded, “Yes, they likely would have tried to behead you, though I’d never allow them to do so. Although,” Chisato’s lips curled up slightly, “Perhaps it would have revealed your other thoughts toward me, such as how firmly you rely on me to protect you from ghosts and curses and terrible noises in old castles.”

“T-that,” Kaoru’s cheeks flushed red and she turned away, “That was just one time… recently.”

“Was it?” Chisato said, leaning against Kaoru again, “I seem to remember a number of occasions now that I think on it.”

“Ah, ahaha,” Kaoru laughed anxiously, “Please don’t.”

“...it isn’t all terrible, you know.”

Chisato closed her eyes and Kaoru looked to her, confused.

“Being the Princess, that is,” Chisato said, swinging her legs off the side of the crate, “I don’t hate all of it. In fact I would say there are times I rather enjoy being able to plot out a negotiation with a crooked guildmaster so perfectly that I can defeat his every scheme before he even has a chance to flounder. It’s not as if it’s entirely unlike me… though I admit you may be right.” She took a breath and leaned her head back, staring up at the firelight, “That’s not all there is to it, and planning a single meeting is a far different matter than having the survival or failure of an entire kingdom depending solely on one Princess. I suppose it is unreasonable.”

She only sounded half-convinced of her own words, but Chisato allowed them to linger on the air and didn’t argue with herself about whether or not she should bear the burden. It was dizzying, in a way-first the revelations about her parents, then shouting at Kaoru, and now saying that perhaps the Princess can’t be expected to cure a whole Kingdom’s ills. So much of that sounded so unlike her, and yet when she said the words they felt so familiar, as if she’d wanted to say them for years. 

Kaoru subtly stretched her hand out behind Chisato’s back, resting on the crate and touching the tip of Chisato’s shoulder so that she knew she could lean back against Kaoru at any time. Chisato smiled and took her up on the offer, leaning back and sinking against Kaoru again.

“What will you do after you confront them?” Kaoru said with a sudden caution.

“I’m not entirely sure. I don’t even know how they’ll respond in the first place, for that matter, but…” Chisato took a deep breath and held it at the pit of her throat. “At the very least, I want things to change. It may be dangerous and it will definitely be painful, but I can’t allow things to remain as they are. This may be selfish of me, but I wonder… if you would be there with me when I speak to the Court.”

Kaoru raised her hand to grip Chisato’s arm while gesturing to the sky with a bold smile.

“But of course, my dearest. I shall no sooner leave your side than die, and, all my powers, address your love and might, to honor Chisato and be her knight!”

Chisato’s laughter rang out so loud she nearly drowned the thunder. 

“I think not. Kaoru, you would now play the part of my knight when you seem so fond of playing the Prince?”

Kaoru’s smile wavered and she made a flourish again to speak, but Chisato took her hand and lowered it.

“It reminds me, I think,” Chisato said, a sly grin on her lips, “of the time you recited one of Romeo’s lines during dinner when a duchess asked you how you fared and you had no idea how else to answer. She was so charmed you ended up performing the whole scene!”

“That’s…” Kaoru cleared her throat, “not anything I remember happening…”

“I remember very well,” Chisato said, “especially the proud look on your face afterwards, and how ruffled you were when you forgot your lines.”

Kaoru’s face burned red and she stammered out a quiet “Chisato, please…” Then, and Kaoru turned to hide her face, Chisato reached up and pressed a hand to Kaoru’s cheek. She hadn't meant to, not any more than she meant to voice the thought that was swimming through her mind in that instant.

“You truly are a lovely fool,” Chisato said, guiding Kaoru’s eyes back to her own, “to think for even a moment that I would rather have a knight or a Prince by my side rather than to have Kaoru herself.”

The rain picked up again and fell as thick as a curtain outside of the folly’s broken door. Kaoru’s face was close enough for Chisato to feel the heat rising from her skin and it was then that Chisato realized just how profoundly she had underestimated the effect of their proximity. Her ears burned and she felt her heart knocking against her ribs, and as soon as the two of them drifted just a hair’s breadth nearer, they both tore themselves away and sat upright, turning to face opposite ends of the room.

“That, that is,” Kaoru grasped for words that were slipping away from her and nearby, Chisato wasn't faring much better.

“O-oh, yes, we've both been in these sopping wet clothes for so long. We'll need to dry them else we may catch our deaths.”

“Ah, yes,” Kaoru nodded, regaining some semblance of her composure, “naturally, it is as you say. Simply drying my cape and jacket is far from sufficient and though this be but a fleeting storm, we must take every precaution against tragedy’s whim.”

That was a very fine and reasonable course of action, they both thought. Very fine and very reasonable until they had both stripped away everything that had been covering their shoulders and Chisato realized that they would have to wait out the rest of the storm, together, in the Folly, while both in a scandalous state of undress. Chisato turned around before she could stop herself and she found the sight of Kaoru’s naked back cast in the lantern light. She turned back at once and trapped a gasp in her mouth, hoping Kaoru didn't hear. More than that, Chisato hoped she didn't turn around. Judging by a half spoken syllable of her name and the loud crash that followed, Chisato realized that Kaoru had, in fact, turned to look. 

“P-perhaps,” Chisato offered, feeling more than a little foolish for the smile on her face, “we should sit with our backs together, until our clothes dry.

“Ah, yes, a wise course of action.” Kaoru laughed uneasily as the two of them settled back onto the tall crate, this time with their backs to one another.

 

* * *

 

The sputtering lantern and the distant thunder were all that abbreviated the silence that followed. It gave Chisato time to calm herself, yes, but it also gave her pause and in that pause she found her thoughts swirling around her again. She first wondered about her parents… should she confront them in front of the Court? Would it be better to do so in private? The theft would be a scandal, but the news that the Princess’s suitors had been murdered unjustly would cause an uproar. Three of those suitors had been members of noble families of the Court and they wouldn't let such a deceit go unpunished. Would the Barons rebel? Would there be a coup? Would Chisato be expected to lead it? Or if not, will her parents have her exiled? Lock her in a tower? 

She didn't care for any of those thoughts, but they still sat better with her than the thought of carrying on as if nothing had happened. She was determined not to abandon the people of the kingdom to corrupt monarchs, but beyond that determination she found it aggravatingly difficult to decide on a path to follow. Whatever the outcome, though, she couldn't run, much as she love to take Kaoru up on her offer of five years’ past.

As it always happened, the moment Kaoru entered her thoughts the few tangles of unfinished paths dissolved into a mire and Chisato found she could no longer think straight. She did just ask Kaoru to be there with her when she confronted her parents, didn't she? It almost seemed surreal but she remembered it so clearly, and what's more she didn't regret it. 

_ How much has she changed with just her presence, in such a short time?  _ Chisato stared beyond the walls of the Folly and wondered.  _ Would I still be following my parents’ whims had she not returned? No… I would have discovered their theft in time. They could hardly hide it forever. But… perhaps I am glad that Kaoru was there with me when I discovered it. I wonder if I would have known it sooner had she never left… or perhaps, had I run away with her. _

Chisato caught herself there and chuckled quietly.

_ Well certainly not the latter… that would've been universally disastrous. We'd have falling into squalor within a month, if my parents hadn't sent the entire Royal guard to carry us back before then. Still… I admit, I had considered it. What I hadn't considered was the prospect of Kaoru returning suddenly and asking for my hand in marriage so suddenly! It was certainly more dramatic than the stammered proposal she made as a child, and- _

Chisato blinked and her eyes widened. Even now, with her world crumbling around her she couldn't stop thinking of Kaoru. Every silence and gap in her thoughts became a a thought of Kaoru and the longer she sat there thinking, the larger those gaps grew. They grew until she was merely moving from one memory to the next and in between them, Chisato realized something terrible and wondrous and beautiful and mad. She buried her face in her hands and her pulse was racing, but there was nothing she could do to hide it from herself: She’d been in love with Kaoru for years and after all this time, it had only gotten worse. She almost cackled at herself.

“Oh how wretched… have I really been this way for so long?”

“Chisato, are you wounded!?” 

Before either of them could stop her, Kaoru leapt across the room thinking that Chisato had sprained an ankle or cut a gash in her leg out in the storm. It was only when Chisato looked up that they remembered, in stunning detail, that they were both astonishingly naked from the waist up. Kaoru nearly fell over and the two of them turned away from one another so quickly Chisato nearly slipped to the floor. Her heart caught in her throat. 

_ Truly?  _ She asked herself,  _ am I so easily disarmed just by the sight of her?  _

Chisato laughed, and from across the room she could hear Kaoru joining her. They settled slowly as the rain and wind picked up again.

“I fear I must apologize, Chisato…” Kaoru’s voice was oddly formal and Chisato had to fight the urge to turn and follow it's source.

“I have been too forward and it was far too presumptuous of me to rush into the palace and ask for your hand in marriage, all without notice and before the entire Court. It was far too brazen of me and if I caused you distress because of that, especially at a time like this, then I will do whatever I can as-”

“Did you mean it?”

Chisato interrupted and her voice cut clear across the room. Kaoru lost the trail of her words.

“What?”

“Did you mean it,” Chisato asked again, “when you knelt before the court and said that you wished to marry me? Or was that a part of your role as the Prince?”

Kaoru nearly bolted upright and she gripped the edge of the crate to keep herself from looking back.

“Of course I meant it! I would never say such a thing lightly or in jest. I may be foolish but I have always meant it, every time I-”

“Kaoru?”

“I swear, I meant every word and I-”

“Kaoru.”

Light footsteps rose above the sound of rainfall and Kaoru looked up to find Chisato standing there, smiling in a way that the Princess never could. She reached down gently and cupped Kaoru’s face in her hands, lingering there  enough for their gazes to allow Kaoru to pull away if she wanted to. She did not. Leaning down slowly, Chisato pulled Kaoru close and pressed their lips together. 

A surge like lightning swept through Chisato and as she pulled away, Kaoru reached up and pulled her back down for another kiss. The softness hit her like a shock, as if she’d jumped into a cool lake and the very next instant found it warm and clear and dazzling. They were rapt and delirious, though hardly skillful. Chisato twice kissed the corner of Kaoru’s mouth rather than her lips, and Kaoru bumped their noses together which set them both giggling. Chisato laid her hands on Kaoru’s shoulders and pulled herself in very slowly, careful to make sure that she wouldn’t fall off center but still closing her eyes the moment they kissed. To Chisato, the room almost seemed to fall away.

_ Why am I doing this? _ She wondered idly as she leaned forward to kiss Kaoru again,  _ No, that’s silly. I know why. I feel like I’ve known forever.  _ And she did; kissing Kaoru was like the ease of falling into a warm bed, and it was thrilling like the wind at your back when you stood along the edge of a cliff. What’s more, Chisato had not failed to notice that in the past five years, Kaoru had grown considerably taller and more lovely than the small, spindly girl she’d known as a child. 

Their kisses were ecstatic, clumsy at first but increasingly desperate each time they pulled apart. Kaoru slid a hand around to Chisato’s back and held her tight and kissed her deeply, and before she could pull away Chisato grabbed the back of her head and held her close. She didn’t want to let go and she held their lips together as she raised Kaoru’s face up in her hands, laying her thumbs across the line of Kaoru’s jaw. She felt her knees buckling and she realized they were both out of breath.

“Ah… ha…” Chisato pulled away and gasped for breath, falling forward and laying her head across Kaoru’s chest. Kaoru caught her in one arm and used the other to steady them both against a nearby wooden beam. There was already sweat gathering on Chisato’s brow and she could barely contain herself.

“Haha… well,” She looked up at Kaoru and flashed a coy smile, “That was far more thorough than the kiss we shared as children…”

Kaoru choked. “D-did that happen? I don’t recall…”

“You don’t?” Chisato set her hands back on Kaoru’s shoulders and pulled herself closer to her face, “Do you not remember the afternoon in the Terrace gardens when you first said that you wanted to see what it was like to kiss me, and when I agreed to it you sat alongside me on the bench by the fountain for what seemed like forever before you could even look toward me. Though now that I think on it, when we finally did kiss our noses bumped together then as well.”

She giggled and Kaoru’s eyes darted across the room.

“Ah, I… seem to remember just a glimpse of that… but…”

“And then, you got so nervous you ran out of the gardens and I didn’t see you until the next day!”

“C-chisato! Please…” Kaoru turned away and her mouth wrinkled up. Chisato leaned in closer and tilted her head.

“Hm?”

Kaoru’s voice cracked and she muttered under her breath. “Stop reminding me, that was so embarrassing I thought I’d die!”

Rather than stopping, Chisato kissed Kaoru on the cheek and wrapped her in a firm embrace.

“I also thought it was charming,” Chisato said, “though I’d never mentioned it before. It truly is strange, isn’t it?” She laughed faintly and her shoulders sank. Kaoru sat forward and leaned into her, holding Chisato against her chest as she lay there breathing quietly. For a time, that was all either of them could manage. Chisato shifted slightly and pressed her cheek to Kaoru’s collar, and Kaoru could feel Chisato sinking against her.

“I was furious, you know,” Chisato said at last, “Furious at you for leaving even knowing it wasn’t your fault, and furious that you asked me to leave with you when I could not. When you returned I was furious that you should come back after all that time, but of late I feel I’ve been the only infuriating one in sight. I’ve been a terribly naive princess…”

Warmth wrapped her face as Chisato felt Kaoru’s fingers on her cheeks. When she looked up, she found Kaoru staring right back at her, gentle and august and with a quiet sadness in her voice.

“Chisato. It cannot be naive to wish the best for your people, nor could it be to do all that you can to help them… but if the Princess never allows you a moment’s time to be yourself and have your own desires, then I will never forgive her.”

A sharp breath crossed Chisato’s lips and shut her eyes, burying her face against Kaoru. It was too much, far too much for her to hold onto all at once. How could she? Who could even think let alone form words and thoughts when Kaoru had just cut right down to her heart and then touched it so gently, as if she would accept every pulse and murmur without ever looking away. Chisato couldn’t give her thoughts voice and she couldn’t contain them, so she pressed them into a kiss in the center of Kaoru’s chest and she stayed there as long as she could. When Kaoru pressed a finger under Chisato’s chin to raise it, Chisato shook her head and buried her face again.

“Please, Kaoru…” She whispered against Kaoru’s skin, “let me stay like this.”

The slight quiver in her voice left Kaoru stunned and it took her a moment to have sense about her again. With a wistful smile, she reached down and stroked Chisato’s cheek and ran her finger’s through her hair.

“Of course… as long as you wish.”

_ As long as I wish? _ Chisato almost wanted to laugh at herself.  _ How long do I wish to stay here against Kaoru? I’m sure whatever the answer it would surprise us both. _

Though in truth, “Forever” was hardly a surprising conclusion, but for the moment Chisato settled for “As long as we can.” It was so easy for her to set Kaoru off-balance, so easy to see her embarrassed and flustered when she scrambled for words, and yet in spite of that, or perhaps because of it, it was even easier for Chisato to fall against her with all her weight. Chisato finally raised herself to kiss Kaoru again and as she did, Kaoru toppled over and barely caught herself with her elbow before she fell flat on her back against the crate. After checking her arms to make sure she wasn’t bruised or cut, Chisato snickered and sat upright, staring at Kaoru where she lay.

“It is quite a state we’ve found ourselves in, is it not?”

Face still burning red and warm, Kaoru smiled back and shrugged. “Quite,” And then she glanced aside for a moment to add, “The storm persists, so our clothes may not be dry for some time.”

“Well, in that case,” Chisato said, settling back against Kaoru, “it should be no worry for us to remain in such a state for a while longer.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "...and, all my powers, address your love and might, to honor Chisato and be her knight!”  
> This is a line from A Midsummer's night dream, when Lysander is professing love for Helena (while bespelled), with Helena's name substituted for Chisato's, of course.


	7. Expectations of the Crown

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, if you like this story please check out chapter 6.5: The Folly in the Storm, which I posted separately! It's posted separately because it. May have a Mature rating and a few tags that you won't find in the main work, but if you're interested please check it out!
> 
> Thank you as always to Izilen, who listens to me rambling about this ship pretty much constantly.

Long ago, in a land beneath the line of the star’s descent, a rose bloomed within a quarry. At first the miners stopped to stare and admire the strange sight, but their King insisted they ignore all distraction and carry on with their work. The miners continued as they were told, but soon another rose sprouted from a silver vein and then a lilac bush grew from beneath a boulder. Gardens sprouted up across the quarry and each time the King tried to cut them down, the flowers bloomed again. The miners all went home with a flower for their families, but the King remained at the quarry depths, tugging weeds and cutting roses each time they appeared. After all, he’d been doing it in secret for years and it was only now that the garden grew too grand for him to kill.

 

* * *

 

The first light of dawn saw Kaoru wake with a murmur as she stretched her arms out overhead and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. For having slept across a warped wooden floor on nothing else but a surcoat she was feeling remarkably comfortable, which she soon realized was due to the current position of her head. As she looked up she saw Chisato watching her, her fingers running gently through Kaoru’s hair. She cradled Kaoru’s head in her lap and smiled when Kaoru opened her eyes.

“Good Morning, Kaoru.”

Kaoru reached up in a clumsy, sleepy motion and stroked Chisato’s cheek with one hand.

“Good Morning.”

The weariness and ache in Kaoru’s muscles had faded to a dull pang, for which she was grateful considering the events of the previous day. Her senses warmed slowly in the sunlight that swept through the folly’s broken door and she turned lazily to kiss Chisato’s stomach. She pondered which of more than a dozens phrases she should use to greet her dearest at the morning’s first light.

_‘Have I thought long to see this morning’s face, And doth it give me such a sight as this?’ Ah, but that part belongs to Paris, which would be somewhat ungainly if I were to call Chisato as Juliet… perhaps ‘Full many a glorious morning have I seen/Flatter the mountain-tops with sovereign eye,” would fare better? Though I don't… particularly grasp it's meaning. Ah, yes, ‘I'll say she looks as clear as morning roses newly washed with dew.’ Which I believe means… well, essentially that._

Kaoru softened her gaze and smiled sweetly as she opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say a word Chisato pressed a finger to her lips. She stroked Kaoru’s hair once more and then leaned down to kiss her.

“I do love nothing in this world so well as you: is not that strange?” Chisato smiled like sunlight melting the frost and Kaoru felt her stomach flutter. She her lips curled into an unsteady smile and she held a hand to the sunlight.

“You have stayed me in a happy hour: I was about to protest I loved you.”

“Were you?” Chisato poked her cheek, “This would seem an odd moment to protest considering how often you swore as much last night. Do not you love me, dear Kaoru?”

“Ah,” Kaoru’s eyes darted aside as she searched her memory. She wasn't as familiar with the part of Beatrice as with Benedick, but then again she hadn't expected Chisato to quote the great bard so clearly.

“Why no; no more than reason,” Kaoru let her hand roll across a sunbeam as she closed her eyes and grinned, “though in truth reason does demand I love you quite profoundly, in every sense and sentiment and without restraint or shame! Ah, Heavens above us! Has ever there been such reason for love as-”

Chisato giggle and tool Kaoru’s face in her hands.

“Peace, Kaoru. I will stop your mouth.” And she leaned down to kiss Kaoru for far longer than a breath. When they pulled themselves apart, Chisato laughed softly and stroked Kaoru’s head again, sweeping a thumb across her lips.

“We should likely up and make our way to the nearest town,” Chisato said, still contending with the drowsiness at the corners of her eyes, “at the very least to ensure that we can manage breakfast, owing to our lack of proper meals last afternoon and evening.”

“Ah, of course,” Kaoru said, unfolding her hands in a vague gesture, “What bird of love did fly without first pluck grain from the fields?”

Chisato paused a beat to consider. “I imagine the birds that eat insects, primarily.”

“Ah,” Kaoru nodded, “but that… isn’t as charming of a metaphor.”

“I’m not entirely sure comparing our breakfast to a seed plucked from the ground is much more appetizing.”

“That… is perhaps true.” Kaoru crossed her arms and closed her eyes, nodding solemnly. “Very well then, I will dress myself for the day.”

“Please do.”

“...”

“...”

For longer than a moment, Kaoru and Chisato simply stayed as they were with no indication of moving or preparing for travel. Chisato kept running her fingers slowly along Kaoru’s scalp and Kaoru let her left hand slowly slip down across Chisato’s back. Then Chisato’s stomach snarled and she glanced away, smiling shyly.

“We should not linger here.”

“Of course.” Kaoru raised her head reluctantly and pulled herself upright, slowly letting her hands fall from Chisato and return to her side. She didn’t realize until that moment that she and Chisato had been touching one another in some way without interruption since the previous afternoon. The sudden lack of physical contact left Kaoru feeling ill at ease, as if she were charged with static and she needed to touch Chisato again or else it would keep building and building until she felt unable to move a single step further away. It took a great deal of effort and restraint to button her shirt without glancing aside to watch as Chisato adjusted her shift.

As fortune had it, their clothes were all thankfully dry and despite her distraction Kaoru managed to dress herself in a generally respectable amount of time. All that was left was her cape, and as she reached to pull it down, two pairs of hands grabbed her arms and slammed her against the wall. By the time she had her bearings again, she felt a pair of manacles clamping down across her wrists.

“What is the meaning of this!? Stand down!”

The Princess was speaking now and the men behind Kaoru seemed to hesitate, but that was all.

“Forgive us, Your Highness, but-”

“I do not see why I should,” The Princess said, “given your disobedience. Unhand her now!”

The men paused again and finally pulled Kaoru back from the wall, turning her to face the doorway.

“I am sorry, Your highness.” One man said, “We cannot.”

By now Kaoru recognized the uniform of Chisato’s own guard and her stomach twisted up in coils. Chisato stormed across the room and blocked their path, glaring at the guards until they each looked away.

“Tell me, then,” She said, “On whose orders have you come here to arrest an innocent woman?”

“On mine, Chisato.” A bellowing voice filled the folly and Chisato turned to see what Kaoru had already suspected. The King strode across the creaking wood floors with the Captain of the guard at his side and seven other soldiers behind him. He stopped three paces from Chisato and swept his cape back, setting one hand on the pommel of his sword and the other on his hip.

“Hm, I see. It is as I feared…” The King surveyed the room with little more than a cursory glance and then he glowered at Kaoru. Chisato was still stunned into silence and Kaoru could see her fingers clenched into a fist at her side.

“Your Majesty, if we may explain,” Kaoru said, smiling through the pain in her head and her wrists, “I believe there may be a misunderstanding afoot.”

“That I doubt, Prince Kaoru! I can see the scene clearly from where I stand!” The king’s brow creased sharply and he pointed to Chisato’s surcoat, the only piece of her clothing still lying on the floor.

“It is clear and apparent that you have kidnapped my daughter here for a dishonorable and nefarious purpose.”

“No,” Chisato shouted and stood between her father and Kaoru, “That’s not true in any sense, Kaoru is-”

“Hush, my daughter!” The King stamped his heel and glared at Chisato down through the corner of his eyes, “Your judgment may be clouded by your closeness to this fiend, but I see her evil intent in its true form. Do not deny your crimes, Prince Kaoru, else your punishment will include your lies as well. Away with her!”

“Stop this!” Chisato pulled on one of the guards and tugged him off balance, but the Captain quickly moved to hold her back.

“Unhand me and unhand her! Kaoru has done nothing wrong, you cannot take her like this! I will not allow it!”

“Chisato…” Kaoru looked back as the guards dragged her on, and in the breadth of a moment she saw clawing at the Captain’s shoulder as she reached out for her. Then the guards pushed Kaoru forward and knocked her head with a fist, and from there the most she could see was the ground as they dragged her outside and flung her across a horse. All the while as they rode away, she could hear Chisato shouting from the folley.

Kaoru had no words, and worse she felt she had no way to match Chisato’s resolve. She had yet to gain experience in breaking free from manacles or escaping execution, so her prospects weren’t looking particularly bright in that regard. She would have to try to exercise what talents she possessed to secure her own life and freedom, particularly so that Chisato did not feel responsible for her fate.

 _Very well,_ Kaoru thought as a horse carried her over uneven ground at a terrible speed, _For all such crimes there will be a trial, and at that trial I shall plead my case to the people and to the Court. My performance will certainly sway their hearts and I shall not rest until they understand the truth!_

And with that Kaoru began preparing for the trial, rehearsing every possible question and accusation, preparing to address every falsehood and assumption and plead the sincerity of her love for Chisato, and above all else she felt certain that the people of the land would understand.

Unfortunately, as she soon discovered, there would be no trial.

 

* * *

 

“I must ask, now that we stand here,” Kaoru said, glancing down the face of the seaside cliffs to the crashing waves below, “is this truly necessary?”

“Prince Kaoru,” The Queen sighed and shook her head, pacing back and forth along the cliffside, “You should be grateful and yet still you protest. It is only out of kindness and deference to my friendship with your mother that we have chosen to exile you from this land for your crimes rather than putting you to death.”

“That is a kindness, Your Majesty,” Kaoru said, smiling uncomfortably, “However I do wonder if we may not choose a different border to your kingdom than the border it shares with the sea…”

The Queen stopped. “No.”

“Ah, very well.” Kaoru swallowed the knot in her throat and looked back at the sheer drop in front of her. “I do not suppose you would allow me the indulgence of writing one last letter to my mother in that case?”

The King scowled. “No.”

“Then, ah,” Kaoru glanced back over her shoulder, “I do wonder, if I may make any final request… Would you consider returning Princess Chisato’s dower to her?”

A visible wave of alarm swept over the guards and soldiers present. The King and Queen almost flinched.

“Silence, you charlatan,” The Queen scoffed, “Your lies cannot mask your crimes.”

“Please, Your Majesties,” Kaoru said, now as earnestly as her weakened voice could manage, “I will soon be exiled and to the bottom of the sea and so there is little harm I could bring to either of you, and so my wish is that you return to Chisato what was rightfully gifted to her.”

“This insolence!” The King’s voice was nearly a growl, “You arrive unannounced to our Court, you beguile our daughter, kidnap her, and now you hurl such vile filth at us!? Guards, exile her at  once!”

But the guards that stood on the cliffside had also seen the abandoned palace and its treasure hoard. They knew that the Princess’s dower had been pilfered, and now they had cause to doubt. One guard took a single step forward before hesitating and holding steady. None of his comrades advanced. Seeing this, the King and Queen fumed with rage and the King marched up to his guards.

“Why do you wait!? Did I not tell you to exile her at once!?”

“Y-yes, Your Majesty…”

The guard nearest to the king approached the cliff’s edge and grabbed the chain that linked Kaoru’s manacles. He lingered for a long moment and then, in the midst of the wind he whispered, “Truly, I am sorry for this.”

_Ah, alas… it seems I was only able to delay them. Still… I hope I was of some help to you in this, Chisato._

The guard pressed his hand to Kaoru’s back, and then a great bounding crash broke the stillness of the moment and the guard leapt back to draw his blade. Kaoru wobbled a bit on her feet but found her balance quickly and turned to find the guards now lined up and facing off against Leon, who sat very properly before them as Chisato dismounted. She walked right up to the guards with her eyes full of fire and she stared past them as she spoke.

“Stand aside.”

The guards glanced aside to one another. “I’m sorry Your Highness, we can’t-”

“Move.”

Chisato kept walking between them and as she approached, the guards slowly and reluctantly made way. While the guards were distant and distracted, Kaoru took the opportunity to step away from the cliff’s edge, or at least as far away as she could manage ever since they clapped irons around her legs. From where she stood, she saw Chisato staring like fury and thunder at her parents and the sight of her made Kaoru’s heart race. In the distance, Kaoru could see a small crowd gathering over the nearby hill and soon more than three dozen citizens were converging on the site.

“Mother. Father.” Chisato looked to the Queen and the King each in turn and they glared back at her.

“What is this?” The Queen glanced over the guards’ shoulders at the crowd gathering nearby.

“Oh, the townsfolk?” Chisato glanced back at them for a moment, “They followed Leon after the commotion he made when I called for him. It turns out he’d been playing with a group of children in the town square when I called him back to help me fend off your captain of the guard. It must have caused quite a stir.”

The King only glowered and clenched his fist.

“Chisato,” His voice dripped with ice and contempt, “stand back. You do not fully grasp the situation at hand!”

“Is that so?” Chisato held a hand up to her mouth, “it seems apparent that you are prepared to push an innocent woman into the sea after she ensured my safety and secured shelter for the both of us during last evening's storm.”

The gathering crowd began to murmur, stirring with the whispers of what Chisato said.

“That was trickery, daughter!” The Queen pointed a finger at Kaoru, “She was planning to abduct you from there to the North, and what's more she is a vile charlatan! How can you trust such a person so deceitful?”

The crowd whispered again, though Kaoru could now see that the gathering had grown and most of the eyes upon her were fixed in rapt attention.

_This is, perhaps, not the grand stage I had imagined… at times we step upon the stage and at times the stage is set beneath us, I suppose._

Kaoru stumbled forward and fell to her knees in as graceful a manner as her manacles allowed.

“Your Majesty, I do so swear on every moon in the sky,” Kaoru looked up at the Queen but her words were for Chisato, “I have been earnest in my every word and intent toward Chisato. Doubt thou the stars are fire,Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love.”

Her words had the desired effect and soon the crowd closed in to hear the arguments more closely. What few guards were present then shifted themselves to form a line against the people gathered round, leaving Chisato, Kaoru, and the King and Queen alone at the cliff’s edge.

“Silence,” The Queen sneered at Kaoru and then she, too, spoke loud enough for the crowd to hear.

“Your crime is not one of love no matter what poetry you might spin. In truth,” The Queen spread a hand out across the crowd, “who among our people is not guilty of loving the Princess? But your crime lies in your lying tongue, for you are with certainty no Prince.”

A quiet gasp issued from the crowd and the Queen went on.

“This woman, while once the daughter of a noble house, is but a pauper prancing about in a stage costume! I wrote to her mother a fortnight past and found that their family had been deposed! Their titles, all holdings, all wealth of value lost! And so then this vagrant, traveling as an actor with not more than two pieces of copper to her name, alighted onto our court to ask the Princess’s hand in marriage! How, then, do you find this fraudulent Prince!?”

The crowd fell silent and all eyes turned to Kaoru. The King and Queen let their lips twist into nearly imperceptible grins. The crowd shuffled and stared in disbelief. Kaoru, however, looked bewildered and in the midst of everything, Chisato just seemed amused.

“Oh, you did not know, mother?” Chisato said plainly and without hesitation, “It has been more than three years since the Seta family held a proper title, though I can see how you may have come upon this news only lately since you've always elected to send me in your stead when her country’s ambassador visited the palace.”

The Queen’s face soured and the crowd watched as she clenched her jaw. Chisato went on.

“In truth I am surprised to hear that you truly thought Kaoru a Prince. I just assumed it was common knowledge that Kaoru was fond of flamboyance and theatrical entrances. If you find this a shock, It can only be for lack of observation. Moreover, I've known she was penniless since she arrived, and while you may wonder please let me dispel all doubt: I still very much intend to marry her.”

The silence shattered and the crowd bustled with rumor and excitement and confusion.

“It… is as she says,” Kaoru bowed her head and shrugged, “I am at present an actor of modest repute, though I do hope to one day perform the works of the great bard upon a grand stage.”

“You lie!” The King snarled, “Twice you told us that you had a retinue en route, what actor would honestly claim such extravagance!?”

“Ah, you see,” Kaoru tried to unfurl her hands at her sides, as best as the manacles allowed her, “that is because the company with which I have been travelling is not due to arrive in the Land of Twenty Tithes for another week and they carry with them the trunk which contains my other costumes and scripts.”

The Queen bristled. "You have a horse!" 

"Ah, but he is more like a friend to me," Kaoru added, "once I freed him from the confines of his stable we have been noble compatriots in our travels."

The King and Queen were aghast and behind their measured smiles, Kaoru could see their rage. Of course at that particular moment Kaoru was too overwhelmed by what Chisato had just said, and by the sight of her standing against the wind.

“This pauper!?” The King shouted, then softened with a careful and deliberate calm, “Chisato please listen to us. She has fallen from the nobility and she only wishes for your hand so that she may take your title to replace that which her family has lost! She has all the trappings of such ambition and she has made you drunk on her lies!”

Chisato glared and sharpened her voice, “I assure you I am quite sober, though I would rather drink my fill of her lies than an ounce of your venom.”

“Enough!” The Queen marched over to stare down at Chisato. “Daughter, you must trust us in this as your own senses fail you. Trust that we do this for your sake and the sake of our Kingdom.”

The Queen reached out to touch Chisato’s cheek but Chisato turned away, a pained look in her eyes. The crowd was now more than a hundred strong and some among that number began shouting for a trial. The guards were overwhelmed as they tried to hold them back and at the edge of the seaside cliffs, the King glare darkly at his daughter’s betrothed. He moved swiftly and without the mercy of delay, grabbing Kaoru by the arm and hoisting her back to the edge of the cliff. Within the same breath, Chisato rushed to stop him but the King had already moved out of her reach. Kaoru tried to dig her heels into the rocks but the King grabbed her by the throat and raised her off the ground. Fighting with all the strength in her burning lungs she struggled to wrench his hands away, and when she finally prayed one of his thumbs loose… the King simply let go.

Kaoru gasped for breath as she saw the sky fall away above her and the wind cut across her ears. The cliffside rushed by and the sound of the waves swelled around her.

 _Ah… this is, perhaps,_ Kaoru thought in the moments as she fell, _not at all how I hoped this would all turn out. At the very least, I've told Chisato how I feel…_

Her final thoughts were cut short by a flash of golden red and Kaoru watched as Chisato dove over the cliffside after her, her hand outstretched. Kaoru panicked and reached out toward her, praying that she was only seeing an illusion and that Chisato hadn't jumped headlong off a cliff to her death. She screamed Chisato’s name but the wind tore her voice and as the distance between them closed, she could feel Chisato’s fingers brush against her own. Kaoru stretched up again and this time her hand clasped around Chisato’s wrist, and then as they pulled themselves together, Kaoru felt a crushing pain against her back and her vision faded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I do love nothing in this world so well as you: is not that strange?" Is Benedick's line to Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing. It's a very good romance scene and I considered having Kaoru reply with one of Beatrice's lines but a lot of those lines also involve wanting to murder Claudio so...
> 
> "Doubt thou the stars are fire,Doubt that the sun doth move, Doubt truth to be a liar, But never doubt I love." Is a line from Hamlet, written by Hamlet in a letter to Ophelia (though read aloud by other characters entirely)


	8. The Princess Dies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may notice I did not, as I said earlier, finish this fic before the RomeoxJuliet event launched. It's finished now though! The only remaining chapter is a fairy tale style epilogue which I'll be posting soon, and thank you so much for everyone who's read up to this point! I hope you've enjoyed this ridiculous KaoChisa fairy tale AU!
> 
> Thank you as always to Izzy, who has v much improved the quality of this fic overall and also provided lots of encouragements for me :D

Long ago, in a land where the moons waited for dusk and the waves roared against the cliffs, the ghost of a girl waited. 

She waited for the dawn, wondering if the sun would melt her like the dew.

She waited for the storm, wondering if the wind would tear her apart, in splinters like the yew.

She waited there on the cliffs to see if night or winter would end her haunting.

She waited there in holy shrines to be banished, 

But she left wanting.

And when she had waited for days that piled into years, 

A Raven fluttered through the trees to whisper in her ears.

“Why do you wait?” The Raven cawed.

The girl said, “I have died,

And what is left for me then, 

But to vanish and withdraw?”

“Died?” The Raven whispered, “And yet here you still remain.”

“Yes,” The girl replied, “though I am not the same.

No one sees my face or form, none can touch my hand,

And it is so all parts I’ve traveled, over sea and over land.”

The Raven turned to tilt her head and hopped down through her tree,

To land upon the faint girl’s shoulder then settle on her knee.

“I cannot speak for those of the land, for they hear not my voice or laughter,

But I at least can certainly hear your words, and the sighs that follow after.

And if you should wish to wait here still, your company I would keep.”

“No,” the girl said with a smile slight, “I shall join you in the forest deep.”

 

* * *

 

"Kaoru! Kaoru, open your eyes! If you die here I'll never forgive you!”

A huge weight fell across Kaoru’s chest and she hacked up a mouthful of saltwater and sea foam. Her eyes opened in a blurry haze, just in time for her to see Leon perched over her, dripping wet with both front paws on her chest. As she coughed, Leon bounced up and pressed her chest again and Kaoru felt as if her lungs might collapse.

“L-Leon, my friend, please…” Kaoru coughed again and sat upright, or rather she made an attempt and promptly fell onto her back. Her body ached in every way possible and her clothes were, once again, thoroughly soaked through. 

_ Ah,  _ She thought to herself, still coughing,  _ the fleeting nature of an unwrinkled shirt… truly it is ephemeral… _

As Leon noticed Kaoru breathing, he carefully stepped off of her and sat back by her side. It was then that Kaoru became more keenly aware of the lighter weight around her neck, which likely prevented her from sitting upright moments before. She reached out - suddenly realizing that the shackles were gone from her hands - and touched Chisato’s arm where it laid across her. She traced it down and found Chisato’s face buried against her shoulder, her frame still and cold.

“Chisa-” Kaoru coughed again, for nearly a full minute before she could catch her breath. She reached for Chisato’s face, her fingers trembling, and when she brushed her cheek, Chisato looked up and her jaw fell slack.

“Kaoru!” She propped herself up and hovered over Kaoru, looking her up and down as if she doubted that she was real. Salt and seaweed clung to her hair and her eyes were red and ringed with dark circles. She held Kaoru’s back in one hand and lifted her slightly. Kaoru gave her a weak smile and gently touched her neck.

“Ah, I see… then truly my fleeting life has come to an end. I have fallen into the heartless sea only to be raised up by such an angel who-”

Kaoru’s voice drowned in a hacking cough and she wheezed as her face went red and she fought for breath. Chisato dropped her and as her back hit the stone of the cavern floor, Kaoru coughed up the last bit of seawater trapped in her throat.”

“It seems…” she said, panting, “I am yet alive!”

“Oh! She's okay!”

Kanon suddenly appeared from the water beside them and she looked Kaoru over to confirm that she was, in fact, alive.

“Yes,” Chisato said, sitting back at Kaoru’s side, “thanks to you and Leon.”

“Ah,” Kaoru said, her voice still coarse and coated in saltwater, “then I am in your debt, lady Kanon… sir Leon…”

“T-thank you, but,” Kanon glanced aside, “all I could do was carry you here. Chisato is the one who breathed air into your lungs so you didn't-”

Kanon stopped abruptly as Chisato shot her a sharp glare. 

“In any case,” Chisato said, her voice weathered and weary, “we're alive, for now, and we should have the time at least to recover here before we move.” 

“Yes,” Kaoru sat upright and leaned against one knee, “Our lives were very nearly… quite fleeting, indeed. Though I appreciate the great bard’s tragedies, I would rather not take part in them firsthand.”

“Truly.” Chisato said, leaning against Kaoru as the muscles in her legs finally gave out.

“But to think, Chisato…” Kaoru smiled boldly and held up one hand, “you dove after me so quickly… I had no idea you were such an accomplished swimmer and… I think you,” She bowed generously, “for a time I thought us both dead, but you have snatched us from the ocean’s grasp.”

“Well, the truth is,” Chisato smiled and looked aside, “I cannot swim. We sank nearly to the bottom of the cliffs before Kanon rescued us.”

Leon barked quietly and panted.

“Yes,” Chisato grinned, “you were a great help as well, Leon.”

“Yes, thank you both.” Kaoru bowed deeply before coughing again. Chisato put a hand on her back and helped her back up, after which Kaoru grinned awkwardly and tried to hide the fact that her mouth was dribbling seawater. 

“It’s not a problem! Or rather, it was a problem because you two almost drowned…” Kanon gave Chisato an uncomfortable smile and asked a question for which she already had the answer.

“I-is everything okay?”

Her voice echoed dimly across the cavern walls and the waves lapped up across the cave floor. For a while, neither Chisato nor Kaoru spoke. Finally, Chisato closed her eyes and took a breath.

“My father pushed Kaoru off the seaside cliffs.”

“Threw,” Kaoru added, “in a very fleeting fashion.”

“Yes.” Chisato glanced away, crossing an arm across her chest and losing herself in recollection. Kanon and Kaoru began talking about something, probably about Kaoru falling from the cliff and Chisato diving after her, but Chisato’s mind was elsewhere. She wandered through the maze of paths laid out before her, each one far too distant and unsure for her to see their ends. Soon she felt a hand on her shoulder and she took longer than a moment to turn and find Kaoru looking at her with pleading eyes.

“Chisato, are you alright!?”

“Oh,” Chisato shook her head out a bit, “Yes… or at least as well as either of us can be.”

“Ah, ahaha…” Kaoru tried to laugh of her anxious concern, “Yes, of course. You just seemed so still and distant for a moment. So then… once we are well enough to move, what should be our course?”

Chisato stared off into the sky beyond the mist of saltspray. She didn’t respond. 

“Could you go back?” Kanon asked cautiously, “I know the King and Queen don’t sound like people who would change their mind but, maybe it’s worth trying to explain?”

“Ah, that…” Kaoru paused, “I believe may be difficult for me to accompany Chisato under those conditions, considering the penalty for defying exile…”

Kanon looked disheartened and she sank a bit into the water. “That’s true… oh! I could swim up one of the rivers and steal a boat that you could use to row up along the shore! If you could get to a port, then maybe-”

“No,” Chisato spoke up suddenly, “I cannot leave. Not yet.”

“Chisato…” Kaoru turned to face her, “I understand your dedication and I will not ask you to run from your country again, but to stay here when your parents have acted in this way… I fear what they might do next.”

“That’s right.” The stern glint in Chisato’s eyes softened, but only from exhaustion. “I have no intention of returning to them as if nothing has happened. It would hardly be possible for me to do so in any event… but I need to speak to them again. After considering everything, I stand by what I said in the folly; I have to confront them.”

“Then I’ll be with you.” Kaoru held a hand over her heart and met Chisato’s gaze, but Chisato only smiled softly.

“Kaoru, you know that the punishment for defying exile is death, do you not?”

“Ah, that,” Kaoru took a moment to compose herself, “that may be the case, but I will accompany you regardless, unless you wish it otherwise.”

Chisato stopped herself from responding with her very first thoughts. She wanted Kaoru there with her, particularly when her parents inevitably began shouting back and trying to twist her thoughts against her. She could likely handle it on her own now, however, and she didn’t particularly want to see Kaoru’s head severed on the ground. Even so, she wanted to ask Kaoru to come with her. How selfish would it be, she wondered, to ask such a thing? How selfish was it to  _ want _ such a thing? To want her closest friend, her lover there beside her… Chisato caught herself smiling wryly at the thought.

_ I suppose I haven’t entirely convinced myself to live free of everyone’s expectations… while it would reassure me to have Kaoru at my side, I would rather her alive and far away than see her dead nearby. _

“No, Kaoru,” Chisato said at last, “The risk is too great and I will not see you dead, at the very least not for a few decades.”

Kaoru’s brow creased lightly and then softened again as she closed her eyes and nodded solemnly.

“...As you wish.”

“You’ll ride on Leon’s back,” Chisato nodded, “Three paces behind, so that he can carry you away if there’s any danger.”

Leon barked happily and picked Kaoru up by the collar, hoisting her up off the ground.

“Ah, ahaha… I see!” Kaoru struggled to get her feet beneath her and stand under her own power as Leon licked the salt from her hair, “then I will be at your disposal, and Leon’s discretion.”

“A-are you both sure?” Kanon was looking more distressed by the second, “If you’re going back into the palace you’ll be surrounded if anything goes wrong…”

“We’ll be alright,” Chisato said, mostly convinced of her own words, “and I promise we’ll be back to let you know that we’re unharmed.”

“Wait, then maybe I can get a brush and help you pick the seaweed out of your hair first!” Kanon prepared to dive back down underwater but Chisato stopped her short.

“No, we’ll go now. Kaoru, can you walk?”

“Ah, but of course,” Kaoru said with a sweeping gesture, and then she promptly tripped into Leon as soon as she tried to take a step. She and Chisato both looked down to find the manacles still on Kaoru’s feet.

“Oh! I’m so sorry,” Kanon gasped, “I only got the shackles off of your hands. Just a second!”

Kanon disappeared under the waves and a moment later, she hefted a gigantic, silver battleaxe out of the water.

“Um, please just. Hold really still.”

“Wait, just what-” Kaoru barely had time to protest before Kanon swung the axe and split one of the shackles at the hinge. Kaoru’s eyes went wide and she nearly jumped backward clear over Leon. 

“Sorry,” Kanon said, more shyly than Kaoru expected a mermaid holding battle axe to sound, “I just need to take the other one off too…” 

Kaoru’s face went pale. “T-that’s truly alright, I can walk just- AH!”

Sparks sprayed into the air and sizzled against the water as Kanon slammed the axe down again, freeing Kaoru from the last of her manacles. As she lowered the axe again, Kaoru shuffled away from the water’s edge.

“T-thank you, Kanon…” 

“Of course!” Kanon smiled brightly.

Chisato laughed to herself at the exchange, and then she knelt by the water and reached for Kanon’s hand.

“Thank you, Kanon,” She said, “We owe you dearly and I swear to you that we will be back.”

“Please be careful,” Kanon took Chisato’s hand in both of her own, “If the tides are too high I’ll try to wait further up on the shore if I can find my way there!”

“That’s alright,” Chisato smiled, a bit awkwardly, “it may be best to meet here so that we can all avoid getting lost along the way.”

Before Kanon could agree, Leon shook his fur out and splashed a fresh gallon of water across Kaoru and Chisato both. When he was done, Chisato climbed up onto his back and held a hand out to Kaoru.

“Shall we?” She said, and Kaoru took her hand and squeezed it tight.

“As you wish.”

 

* * *

 

As the news of the Princess’s presumed demise spread through the kingdom, the palace courtyard swelled with people demanding news and spreading rumors amongst themselves. Within the palace proper, the King and Queen presided over their Court alongside all of their ministers. The air was heavy and every breath felt like the needles of a cactus. In the mist of whispers, the Queen sobbed quietly, once every eight seconds, and the King rose with a solemn, statuesque frown.

“Prince Kaoru has been exiled, as our judgment demanded…” The King said, his voice restrained but still booming, “and as you have no doubt heard by now, our daughter… the Princess has fallen into the sea from the southern cliffs.”

A murmur rose and fell through the room like swaying wheat.

“We have already begun our search for her,” The king went on, tightening his fist, “but so far, the royal guard has found no trace… we fear… we fear the worst may have come to pass.”

“She was so young and pure!” The queen spoke up through her steady sobs, “to wish that we might spare her childhood friend, even as that friend was exposed as a criminal… and that her selfless nobility may have… may have cost her…” 

The Queen hid her face and an attendant arrived at her side with a silk handkerchief while the King placed a hand on her shoulder. He looked across the room slowly and met the eyes of every noble and minister in turn.

“We will not stop searching. We will never give up hope that the Princess yet lives… but should we fail in our efforts, we must honor our daughter with a period of mourning. All business and trade should cease for no less than three weeks except by royal exemption and all ceremonies are-”

“Your majesties!” 

All eyes turned to the light that poured into the grand hall and the single guard who stood in the open doorway. The King’s glare turned harsh, but he acknowledge the guard and bid her enter.

“What news?”

“The crowd in the courtyard,” The guard said, panting, “There’s more than seven hundred now, we’ve not the garrison to keep them in order any longer.”

“Well then what-” Duke Calament shut his mouth almost as quickly as he’d opened it. Across the grand hall, the Queen rose from her seat and began walking steadily toward the door. 

“We will address them.”

The Minister of Scribes raised a hand, but he lowered it again without making a sound. The whole of the Court watched as the King and Queen marched out of the grand hall and headed for the balcony overlooking the courtyard. 

The courtyard that stood between the palace proper and its inner wall usually held four acres of flowering fruit trees and gentle, idyllic songs. That day, it held nearly a thousand people all gathering beneath the balcony, waiting for word of the Princess’s fate. The sun was high over the palace now, nearly at its peak as the King and the Queen stared down at the crowd below with their eyes and lips held in a precise and exacting sorrow. The din of their audience grew every moment and there were still droves of people waiting outside of the gates. 

With a single, grave shout, the King addressed the crowd.

“Subjects!” He waited exactly two beats for the clamor to die before he went on, “Your Princess is missing. This morning, a treacherous imposter, posing as a Prince from a faraway land, attempted to abduct her to nefarious ends. The royal guard captured the vagabond swiftly and she was exiled from the kingdom hence… however…”

The King lowered his face and cast his eyes down, waiting for the Queen to lay a hand on his shoulder and a finger on his hand before he went on.

“Your Princess is kind, and she is merciful, and gracious beyond compare. In her kindness she sought to spare the villain who abducted her, and in her attempt to do so she was cast into the sea…”

Whispers wafted through the air and the crowd stirred, just as Their Majesties expected. They waited four breaths and not a moment longer-then the Queen placed a hand on the balcony rail.

“Every spare member of the royal guard is searching for the Princess as we speak… I pray we find her safe and unharmed soon, but… but, should we fail in that-”

“Then there is no cause for worry!”

A voice split the crowd and hovered in the air, filling the courtyard entirely and rising to the balcony like steam. As the people moved aside and parted from the center of the courtyard path, they all looked on in shock and relief as Princess Chisato stood before them, salt crust and seaweed in her hair as she shouted up to her parents. 

“You may all rest at ease,” Chisato shouted with a broad grin, “I am more than alright!”

All eyes fell upon her and her parents fell into stunned silence. Three paces behind Chisato, Kaoru stood with Leon, however, and once the King saw them he leaned over the balcony rails.

“Guards, arrest that woman! She is the villain who abducted the Princess!”

“Stand down!” Chisato called out, her voice echoing longer than her father’s throughout the crowd. What few guards remained in the palace moved at first, but the crowd was gathered far too densely for them to advance and at the Princess’s word, they gave up altogether. Chisato took a deep breath.

_ Good, it seems we’re safe for the moment… _

“Father, I would not deign to question your insistence to arrest an innocent woman before celebrating your daughter’s survival. I do, however, think it odd that you seem still so unfamiliar with the tides and currents of your own kingdom-There were no search parties along the coast insofar as I could see. I was honestly shocked.”

Chisato dug her fingernails into her palm and then released them. Even after everything that had happened, she couldn’t understand why her parents hadn’t set about searching for her in earnest. It was a shock, and though it was one she had anticipated it was still upsetting.

“That girl has deceived you!” The King shouted again, pointing a finger at Kaoru, “She is a penniless vagrant masquerading as a Prince, and now she defies exile to stand in our very palace!”

Chisato glanced back at Kaoru and then held a hand to her mouth, “I would have thought that you would be more concerned with the vast sum of gold and trade wares that have gone missing from the royal treasury over these past years. The fact that nearly all of my own dowers are now resting halfway across the kingdom seems as if it would warrant more of your attention.”

Whispers gathered into a low roiling clamor across the courtyard and the King’s precision failed him. His wiry brow creased sharply and his gloves tightened over the rails. 

“That is trickery and deceit! For what purpose would we steal from our own daughter? For what reason would you believe that your own parents had more cause to steal from you than a disgraced and destitute charlatan!?”

“For what reason…” Chisato muttered those words to herself and her nails dug into her palms again, “I’d like to know that as well.” 

From behind her she heard Kaoru approach.

“Chisato-”

“No, I’m alright,” Chisato said, steeling herself, “I’m alright… but please stay right there.”

Kaoru nodded. “Of course.”

“I would wonder that myself,” Chisato said aloud and for the whole of the palace to hear, “though it is mysterious to think that I found much of what should have been in the royal treasury resting in a secret chamber that only opened with the signet ring of the silver lily.”

She held up her hand and her ring glimmered in the afternoon sun. With just a glance the people of the crowd knew what that must mean, but Chisato didn’t need them to understand at once. In fact, she wasn’t particularly focused on proving her parents’ guilt at all. She just wanted an answer, and whatever that answer might be, she would have it soon.

At the mention of their signet rings, the King’s grip weakened. From the courtyard their reaction seemed stoic and unwavering, but up on the balcony Their Majesties were beginning to sweat in the glaring sun. 

“Chisato, how could you say such things?” The Queen set a hand over her chest and feigned shock, “You would discount your parents before suspecting the treachery of servants in the palace? You would say that this woman who beguiled you could not have beguiled others, and instead you believe that we, your parents, who have loved you since before your birth, would steal from you!?”

The eyes of the crowd fell on Chisato and Chisato only sighed.

“I see,” She said, her shoulders sinking and her weariness showing in full, “then in that case I don’t care to bicker. If you are unwilling to admit what you have done, I will not waste my breath.”

She turned and began walking toward the gate, stopping beside Kaoru as she went. She hid her eyes from the sun as best she could, but she couldn’t hide the white in her knuckles or the quivering of her fist. Gently, Kaoru reached down and cupped Chisato’s fingers, lifting them up and pulling her nails out of her palms. Chisato relaxed by a measure, pulled her hand away, and continued walking. From the balcony, the King was almost screaming.

“Chisato! Do not turn your back on us and this kingdom! Chisato!”

Chisato turned on her heels and glowered up at her father.

“Over the years, you allowed me to believe, and in fact told me earnestly in countless breaths, that I must do everything tirelessly for the sake of the kingdom and for our people. I trusted your words from birth and I’ve worked every waking hour to that end. Because I trusted you both!”

Chisato’s voice cracked, and beneath it there was fire.

“And each time you scolded me or humiliated me and told me that I’d failed in some way, I trusted that your criticism and your advice was always meant for the effect of improve the lives of our people. I followed every word, and now I find that so much of your insistence, so many of your instructions were all undertaken not for the sake of our people or our kingdom but for the sake of your nightly banquets and the gold filigree stitched into your gowns!” Chisato’s voice crashed against the courtyard walls and washed over the palace like a wave. She grew quiet for a breath, though her voice still carried far enough to reach most of the crowd.

“And mother, even were there no theft to speak of, I have lately considered… to have such a hoard of gold and jewels and finery whether in a secret chamber or the palace treasury, and to keep that for the Crown while people in our villages use scrapwood to board the gaps in their rooftops and struggle to pad their walls as winter approaches… this is ludicrous.”

The King barely hesitated to answer. 

“That is foolishness, Chisato! Royal finance does not simply work in that way, and were we not to keep a stockpile of wealth our trade contracts would diminish! Please, my daughter, understand that you are young and yet naive, and you have been misled by the simplicities you have heard from this vagrant woman!”

“Is that so?” Chisato glared sharply, “Father you seem more than willing to blame Kaoru for all things, but I wonder then… was it Kaoru’s beguiling tongue that led you to execute every past suitor who appeared before me in the palace? Was it Kaoru who had the both of you joyfully encourage wealthy men from your own noble Court to try and court me even though you have long since known I hold no fondness for men?”

An elderly gentleman in the crowd turned to his grandson and asked,

“I confess I may be lost… what might the Princess mean by that?”

“Ah,” Kaoru jumped in with a smile as she laid a hand gently across her heart, “that is, of course, what is is referring to is known most romantically… as Lesbianism.” 

The elderly gentleman nodded and he turned to whisper through the crowd, and a quiet chorus ‘Oh yes, that makes quite a lot of sense’ moved throughout the courtyard. 

“It is clear and abundant,” Chisato said after a measure, still glaring fire up at the palace balcony, “that you have personally benefited greatly from not only my efforts but from all the court and the people of this land, and for you to do so…”

The Princess and Chisato both choked on the words that followed. Out of sight, she reached for Kaoru’s hand and Kaoru gave it quickly, squeezing her fingers in Leon’s shadow so that the King and Queen wouldn’t see.

“Why would you treat your daughter in that way,” Chisato said with a heaviness in her voice, “if there was love in your heart for her?”

On the balcony, the King looked aside to the Queen and the Queen glanced sidelong at Chisato where she stood. They seemed to confer for a moment, and then the King spoke again.

“Chisato, how could you show such a lack of respect and gratitude! You doubt our words and now you doubt that we love you, your own parents, who blessed you with life and comfort and health every day of the past seventeen years!”

Chisato closed her eyes. “...That is your answer… I see.”

Chisato lowered her head and squeezed Kaoru’s hand tighter, and as she did all eyes in the crowd fell upon her. The King and the Queen went unseen, standing atop the balcony with the sun overhead and hundreds of their subjects beneath them. None of their guards looked to them for orders and none of their ministers watched for their intent. As Chisato turned to leave again, the Queen grabbed the balcony rail and shouted loud enough to shake the palace windows.

“Do not turn away from me, Chisato! We are the only ones who truly love you and you are hurting us now with your distrust! How could you do such a thing to us? How could you love that girl more than your own parents!?”

Chisato didn’t pause or break her step.

“This is now a matter beyond Love, unfortunately.” Chisato said as the crowd followed her voice, “You’ve hurt people, mother, and by your words you seem intent to deny that. Injury requires treatment, does it not? Regardless of whether the injury is accidental or malicious. To deny that a wound bleeds is even more cruel, isn’t it? The harm you cause is real, and so…” She paused a moment, leaning against Leon for the slightest breadth of a second, “Love alone is not enough to forgive such a thing.”

“Guards! Apprehend the Princess!” The King roared across the courtyard, his careful tone and inflection now broken entirely, “She is not of a steady state of mind!”

The guards made no move, though they could scarcely find a path through the crowd even if they had the will to obey. 

“This is clearly some dark magic or trickery at work!” The King cried out, “For our Princess, the noblest and wisest of the land to be so turned against her parents with the most tattered evidence of malfeasance!?” 

“My subjects, blessed by the Land of Twenty Tithes,” The Queen called out, now speaking to the crowd as she watched Chisato walk away, “I must remind you all of the proper order of the world beneath the heavens-the rulers of this kingdom receive the blessing of the people and the land, and in return they must shepherd them and provide sanctuary for them, as is the proper order of things. Likewise the people receive the blessings of our grace and wisdom, and they return that blessing to us with their tithes and their loyalty. You, daughter, are the most blessed of us all! We have given you life and shelter and every prosperity the kingdom could offer, if ever we appeared to act in greed it was greed upon your behalf! And for all of those blessings, would you now decry us in public? On baseless assumption? To what end but vanity? You are the Princess, and as our Princess you must return the blessings you have received - to hoard them for yourself is the true theft.”

The crowd whispered and uncertainty spread, though only beneath the palace eaves. Chisato stopped in her stride and turned, her face drawn and exhausted.

“That may be true,” Chisato said, “The Princess herself cannot escape the obligations of the Crown… but, in that case…”

Chisato tugged at the tiara fastened in her hair, fighting with the tangles and pins that had kept it in place as she tumbled through the sea. She finally ripped it out and threw her hair pins across the ground as she twisted and wrenched the jewels from the frame. With great effort, Chisato popped two gems out of their sockets and twisted the tiara apart, slowly at first and then suddenly as it snapped into three lengths of sparkling silver. She held two of its pieces in her hand and twisted them again, cracking them each in half before she threw them into the air and over the people gathered around. The entire courtyard watched in bristling silence and the Queen looked on in horror as Chisato met her gaze.

“I’ve spoken my heart,” Chisato said, “and that is all I can do now. I’m leaving, and I leave the people and the Court to make their judgments of you.”

“Chisato! Chisato!”

The King kept calling after her as she left. The Queen stepped back, hiding her face from the people below. As the din of the crowd grew into a feverish roar, the King howled out above them.

“Chisato, you can cast of your crown but you are still our daughter! You cannot marry that girl without our blessing!”

“Oh,” Chisato paused and tilted her head as the crowd fell quiet again, “that is true. You do have a point, father.”

Kaoru’s eyes went wide and she felt her mouth twitch. “H-he does?”

“Indeed,” Chisato said, “Kaoru, you have not yet presented a dower to me, have you?”

“Ah,” Kaoru held her hands up at her side, “in the fleeting time that we have spent together these past weeks, Chisato, it is true that I may have become too enamored of your beauty to recall… but yes, that would be correct.”

Chisato nodded. “And mother, did you not say just hours ago this morning that Kaoru was quite penniless? Less than two copper pieces to her name each year, I believe?”

The Queen’s face ran pale. Chisato grinned, for she knew that the Queen understood what was about to happen. With the entire courtyard and the whole of the palace now watching them in ecstatic fascination, Chisato turned back to Kaoru.

“Kaoru, do you still have those old copper bands?”

Kaoru beamed proudly as she finally realized what Chisato meant. 

“Yes, of course! I’ve not let them out of my reach since the day we parted.”

She patted the pocket of her jacket. Then another pocket. Then she became increasingly nervous and the crowd grew increasingly curious as she checked every pocket she could find. At last, Kaoru pulled a waterlogged pouch from her vest and opened it to reveal the two copper bands she and Chisato had worn as children, along with a small crab that tried to abscond with one of them. Kaoru plucked the ring from the crab’s claws and as the crab scurried away, she offered the rings up on her palm. 

With more relief in her voice than she meant to show, Chisato smiled to the crowd.

“They are not terribly large but, these rings hold at least the copper one might need to make ten coins each, do they not?”

Kaoru knew exactly what she had to do. She knelt down with a flourish and swept her cape aside, and on her face she held a clumsy, reckless grin. The people around them saw a dashing Prince proposing to their Princess, and Chisato saw her dearest friend and the girl she’d longed to see nearly every day for the past five years. 

“I believe,” Chisato said, taking both of the rings in hand, “This is more than the amount of Kaoru’s twenty tithes.”

She looked over the rings for a moment and lost herself in thought. There was still a numbness in her chest, an ache across her body from falling into the sea, and the overwhelming exhaustion of… well, everything that had happened since dawn. In the midst of that, there was something light as well, and Chisato held onto that more tightly than her feet clung to the ground.

“Kaoru,” She said, turning the rings over in her hand, “our fingers were quite a bit smaller when we were children, were they not?”

“Ah, in truth,” Kaoru chuckled to herself, “But it is as the great bard has said, ‘Love is not love that alters when it alteration finds.’”

The elderly gentleman from the crowd spoke up again. “Which means…?”

Kaoru nodded. “Well, as it is stated there, essentially that.”

Chisato laughed and pulled on the copper bands, opening them slightly. She slid one ring onto her left hand and after opening the other, she placed it on the third finger of Kaoru’s left hand. Even through their mild confusion over the present events, the crowd cheered. They cheered as Kaoru took Chisato’s hand and they cheered as the two of them stood together. They cheered as Kaoru kissed her betrothed and they cheered over the King and the Queen’s endless bellowing. In the center of the courtyard in the palace of Twenty Tithes, Chisato looked to Kaoru and her smile set them both at ease.

“Shall we, then?”

Kaoru grinned. “You need but say the word.”

And the people of the kingdom parted as Chisato and Kaoru hopped on Leon’s back and rode away. By dawn of the next day they had left the Land of Twenty Tithes, though not before making a few stops along the way...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ‘Love is not love that alters when it alteration finds.’ is a line from Sonnet 116. The original meaning and context (or lack of context) are both the subject of intense debate among Shakespearean scholars, but for the sake of this fic we'll take it in isolation. On its own, the line can be read to mean that if your love diminishes or fades when the one you love changes (such as the normal changes associated with growing older), then it's not True Love. Kaoru, of course, is using that line to mean that her love will not diminish simply because their fingers are bigger now than when they were children. In short, she's a dork.


	9. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Princess is gone. The Prince is gone. The King is gone. The Queen is gone. Only Chisato and Kaoru remain, and what they whisper behind the curtain, only they will know.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading this! I'm also really glad I was able to wrap this up during the Romeo&Juliet event in Bandori :D 
> 
> Thank you again to my beta reader Izilen, and thank you to everyone who has read and enjoyed this fic!

Along the line of the stars’ descent, at a point beneath the horizon where the moons wait for dusk there is a land where the Silver Lily blooms. It is a land without a Princess, and as of late, it is a land without the Crown.

After leaving the Land of Twenty Tithes, Chisato and Kaoru rejoined Kaoru’s troupe and for the whole of the winter season, they traveled across the continent performing together and, at times, swindling wealthy barons into exposing their own crimes. Despite the meticulous efforts of the company seamstress, however, they never could quite get the smell of sea salt free from Kaoru’s princely clothes.

After the Princess disappeared from the Court of Twenty Tithes, the people began questioning their rulers. Soon the barons and duchesses of court, and even the members of the royal guard became suspicious. The Minister of Finance admitted to aiding in their embezzlement and before the first bloom of spring, the King and the Queen were forced from the throne. They were last seen riding away to the North, though their whereabouts are unknown and, by most, undesired. 

With all their rulers abroad, many in the Kingdom called for Chisato to return and assume the throne, but when Chisato and her fiance returned to the country, they had a very different thought. Perhaps it was time to find a way for the people to both give and receive blessings freely, without owing their tithes to the Crown. Soon there were calls across the land for a council to take the place of the throne, and in the discussions that followed the people in each town chose their peers to take the place of the Crown and see that the wealth of the land found its way to each and every citizen. Somehow, Chisato was not elected to any seat on the council despite the public’s overwhelming affection for her. 

A young dancer by the name of Aya was chosen as the council’s leader and while this set the members of the nobility ill at ease, the council’s new ambassador, Chisato, was more than willing to was more than willing to calm their agitation. In all of the uproar that surrounded the reformation of the kingdom, few people noticed that Chisato seemed perfectly content with the way things had turned out.

As an ambassador for the Land of Silver Lilies, Chisato was soon set to the task of traveling abroad to re-establish the trading routes that were lost with the Crown fell out of favor. At her fiancee’s suggestion, they headed first to the land across the sea, which had once been the Court of the White Rose. 

 

As the moon rose over the horizon and night fell across the sea

The shipboard band began to play.

As Kaoru took Chisato’s hand to dance in the crackling lantern’s light

And the deck rocked in steady sway,

Their feet fell in time and the passengers applauded in the fire’s steady gleam.

And after midnight fell, the lovers stole away

To show each other, there alone, their faces yet unseen

**Author's Note:**

> Updates 9/3/2018: Thank you everyone who read along while I finished this story! The Queen of Twenty Tithes is now complete, 44k in the main work and about 5k in the side chapter, The Folly in the Storm. These characters and their relationship mean a lot to me and I love them dearly, so I'm really glad so many people have enjoyed reading!
> 
> Updates 8/28/18: Chapter 6.5 is now published! For all who are curious about what happened between Chapters 6 and 7 of this fic, you can find Chapter 6.5, "The Folly in the Storm," in this series or on my works page. I published 6.5 separately because, as you'll see, it's rated Mature and I wanted to keep the main fic rated Teen. 
> 
> Updates 7/21/18: I've made some minor edits but more importantly, I've clarified the difference between a Dower and a Tithe with regards to the offerings Chisato's suitors have to make. The title of the work refers to the Royal court itself which holds the ideal of returning all blessings twofold - a tithe is a tax paid to the ruler(s) of the land that amounts to one-tenth your annual earnings, so twenty tithes would be double what you could possibly make in an entire year.
> 
> A dower refers specifically to the gifts and offerings required in order to seek someone's hand in marriage (usually that of a woman of the nobility). It's different from a Dowry, which is something the parents provide for their child at the time of marriage.
> 
> So in short, the King and Queen adhere to a long-standing tradition in their kingdom that all blessings should be repaid two-fold, hence the palace being known commonly as the Court of Twenty Tithes. They normally don't demand that much in terms of payment from any of their citizens, but when suitors began asking for Chisato's hand in marriage, the King and Queen decided to set her dower at about the amount that would be equivalent to twice a suitor's annual income or an amount roughly the same as Twenty Tithes.


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